After a terrible few weeks, Prince William’s press office is pushing back in a big way. Was this part of a larger strategy? I doubt it. I don’t think anyone would ever believe it was a brilliant strategy to use a press secretary to blatantly lie about a prince’s work schedule and the reasons why he refuses to do more than one event a month. But William’s press office might have just let the journalists yell at clouds for a few weeks, then they pushed back with a multi-pronged press blitz. Here are some of the stories that have come straight out of Team Cambridge’s press office in the past few days:
William is keen on mental health too. Team Cambridge went to People Magazine with this exclusive – William, Kate and Harry will “launch a three-pronged campaign on mental health.” William, you see, has seen suicidal men first-hand through his part-time, barely-there work at the EAAA. So he will “highlight male suicide and the troubles facing young men as he joins with Kate, 34, and Harry, 31, in their efforts to improve mental health.” Just vague enough to pass for something barely substantive. And it’s so vague, you’ll never know if they’re following through on it!
Will and Kate will visit the slums of Mumbai. Their press office is parceling out details and vague “confirmations” of their Indian tour itinerary, like I guess we’re supposed to count press office confirmations as “royal work” now. If wishing made it so. Anyway, Will and Kate will maybe/probably breeze by a Mumbai slum. That photo-op will be… interesting.
William threw his brother under the bus again. Because I guess William thinks we won’t notice that every time he gets criticized, there’s some magical report about Harry being “work shy” too. The Daily Mail published a report on how “Prince Harry’s lack of official engagements is raising eyebrows among Buckingham Palace courtiers.” Harry has only done two “official” engagements in 2016. But it’s worth pointing out that Harry is once again deeply involved in organizing the second Invictus Games AND he does work (on a weekly basis) with injured veterans, almost all of which does not appear on the Court Circular (the listing of royal appearances). But sure, Harry parties. He goes to the clubs. He hangs out with models. He’s also not the heir.
Incidentally, this is why Harry needs to have his own press office. As long as Harry shares press people with William and Kate, his work will always go unrecognized and he will forever be his older brother’s sacrificial lamb.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN.
” William, you see, has seen suicidal men first-hand through his part-time, barely-there work at the EAAA. ”
Nice!
That second pic down is everything. William is “keen”? Oh good….
All these pictures are waiting for Lear 2: Royal Dude Bros to be written.
W&K are doing excellent work for *my* mental health: Cheers me up no end to see Brits pushing back against the monarchy.
Nothing like brotherly love.
I think that’s pretty sh*tty for Will to throw Harry under the bus. If were going to compare work ethic here, it’s no contest. Harry has been a good brother and uncle to Will’s family. That’s total BS. Get off your ass Will and Kate.
Red Harry probably doesn’t care. Maybe he’s fine with being the punching bag that takes the focus off of Won’t l. (As in, will Will work? No, Will Won’t.)
-TheRealPinky
I, too, do not think Harry really gives a rat’s ass about all of this.
Reports were he was very upset when his father used him as the scapegoat, to make both Charles and William look good. He might see it as the kicking around the spare has always gotten, that doesn’t mean he likes it.
I know all of the British subjects disagree with my opinion but I am convinced that it is Charles throwing both William AND Harry under the bus. Isn’t it Chaz’s office that ultimately assigns duties with the Queen’s recommendations? Chaz and Cams have been out and active and garnering lots of good vibes and press lately so they will be welcomed with open arms when the sad day comes that Her Majesty, the Queen passes. Chaz hates it when someone else gets the starring role in the spotlight – look at how he treated Diana in public when they were first married. He was not happy because everyone was looking at her and paying no attention to him. I think Chaz has an ego the size of all of the world’s oceans combined. Once he becomes King, he will assign duties to Wills and Harry but those duties will be the ones that don’t outshine Chaz and Cams.
Each royal chooses their patronages by themselves. Same with the number of engagements they take: it’s all their own choice.
Nope – each Royal choses their patronages and is in charge of their own schedules. W&K have had control from the get go – Buckingham Palace made a big deal of making sure that was known when they got married. They were covering their asses for inevitable blame game thats been going on ever since – Kate, during the GF years, once claimed that the palace was stopping her from getting a job! They came out and called BS on that – not long after she got the little job with Jigsaw throu Mummy and Daddy’s friends.
Seriously, maybe they haven’t been ‘official’ engagements but I see photos of Harry at charity type functions ALL the freaking time, especially as it relates to wounded warriors and the Games.
I feel like Harry’s doing double duty, and the stuff he does is freaking hard core–like a marathon in Antarctica or something. Definitely side-eying this report of Harry’s ‘lack of engagements’. blargh.
I literally can’t remember the last time I saw William at an event, save for this recent rugby game. I can’t imagine being in a position like that: having that many opportunities to make a difference and really shine a spotlight on charities you CARE about, and that’s your only freaking job and you wouldn’t have to do any of the difficult leg work that comes with charity work. Charity employees are so underpaid and the work really requires the ability to hustle. I’ve worked for them. you have to cold calling begging for money (done it), grant apps (done them–most of your grants will be denied), organizing donations for silent auction fundraisers (done it), or write press releases and then call every journal or newspaper in town, begging them to run the press release for free (most of those newspapers will never call you back). Like, Prince William doesn’t have to do ANY of that. He only has to pick some topics that interest him and show up with a smile.
I cannot imagine having endless resources to do something about topics that are underfunded and needs attention (say, oh, HIV/AIDS in Africa, the migrant crisis, programs for abused children or children in foster care, children’s hospitals, art funds, job training for immigrants, etc–and that is just off the top of my head!), having endless opportunities to get involved, and no other required work obligations, and not taking advantage of the chance to make a DIFFERENCE.
Really? Prince William is keen on something? Good news, I read he will pursue the topic of menatl health of men as it turns out the suicide rate among men is really high in the UK. So he handles not only mental health of kids but men too. Multi tasking, let’s see how he manages them.
Of course KP is coming out with more details of their tour, at least people start talking about something else rather than how much these two work.
Visiting slums would be pretty interesting, Kate can prove herself this time, last time when she visited a place of devastation she managed to wear Mcqueen with a huge pricetag. Because she cares.
Throwing Harry under the bus is not news anymore. Pathetic.
He can lay his brick (head) on top of the foundation his wife has laid:Just yap on about how warm priveleged background=no mental health struggles. So simple.
Suicide is the leading cause of premature death in men in the UK.
For this reason, I think this prize (insert all the swear words you can think of here) twerp should be told to stay well a-bloody-way from it. He’ll probably make a speech saying it’s the (poor) women’s fault for not loving their men sufficiently, to shadow Kate saying childhood mental ill health is the fault of the (poor) parents.
Or perhaps he’ll say fresh air and exercise is just the ticket for desperately ill or unhappy men, so if they would just #cleanforthequeen things would be so much better for them.
Blimey. I’m feeling even more venomous than usual today!
Good points, and I agree, Sixer. Mental health is one of those topics that has to be done either completely correctly or not at all – no in between. You can’t phone it in.
I agree with you, Sixer.
Hey – Sixer, Somewhere on these threads I heard you talk about your Mother – So good to hear! If there were a GOD, I’d say, “BLESS YOU!” – so that’s what I mean! You are taking the ball, and going for it – Thanks, whatever – WhatEver! – you are sooo needed.
So, Back to Will and Kate. I totally get them – they are, however, believing fervently in a different era. I am an old Lady, getting tired, sometimes: so GLAD for the Young! Bless this old heart! (Because it beats for our imagination).
Now, how do we get our great friend, Bernie Saunders, elected?!!! Those Sillies, the Occupy Movement didn’t believe that people were listening.
Everyone, I will not try to explain – but heelloo, out there, Sixer. Get it done.
KP has been parceling out obscure details about the trip that’s happening in April… APRIL! Just last week they gave a vague list and it made no mention of the “Slumdog” visit. Like they said they’d be visiting and learning about “the creative and business hub” Mumbai. Learning about something else in New Delhi. Visiting a park and paying tibute to the community in Kaziranga. Then learning about the culture of Bhutan with the King and Queen. I guess they saw too many comments saying their plan looked like a tourist’s itinerary and still didn’t clarify why they were even going and what, if any, “business” they would be attending to. It truly just sounded like Will and Kate would be getting a guided tour–Standing, watching, “listening and learning” (you know how they do)–Through some popular and very nice places in India. At the same time, KP reminded us of Harry’s trip to Nepal, where he’s going to meet President Bidya Devi Bhandari and those affected by the earthquakes and visit this camp, and that park. You know, stuff. Actual information. It sounded like Harry was once again getting the trip of real substance and Will and Kate were getting a fluffy vacation, peaking with a trip to the Taj Mahal. Literally. They’re going to India, then Bhutan, and will swing back to India to visit the Taj Mahal. So it’ll be the last thing to remember from the trip. We wouldn’t want those photos to get lost in the mix, now would we?
@ Amber
I agree. When I see interviews with both Harry and William, Harry seems to know specific points of information and can discuss matters in terms of practical usage, but William can only talk in broad, general descriptions of the topic, as if having been given a talking points sheet ahead of the interview and which was created by a PR guy who has no more knowledge of the topic than William does.
W&K will go to India and Bhutan with the mindset of being celebrated personages and to garner photo ops, but Harry will go to Nepal as someone genuinely interested in what is shown and taught to him.
Beyond being totally transparent, I don’t know how you can throw your own sibling under the bus so easily (or why Harry takes it). I can’t imagine how awkward those family events are for Harry knowing your own brother and sister-in-law would lie and throw you to the (media) wolves without a second thought to protect their own lazy butts.
If he ever makes it to the crown, Wills is going to be a disaster. Such a lazy stooge.
I think Harry couldn’t care less cause he won’t be king and people know he works.
That’s a good point, I’m sure he’s also used to it by now. I just can’t imagine a sibling doing that to me – makes me mad for him 😉
Maybe he is just so laid back, he just takes it for what it is. Not worth pushing back.
I used to feel bad for Harry, back when Wills was the beautiful golden child. But now that it’s obvious Wills doesn’t want his destiny, Harry has grown into a hottie, and between the two Harry has the more enviable life, I think being Will’s fall guy is just Harry’s cross to bear. Otherwise, Harry’s life seems pretty darn great.
Diana taught him that his main duty was to support his brother. He takes it on the chin because “never complain, never explain”. Doesn’t mean he likes it.
Harry does more than Will and Kate combined, but because they’re not “official” engagements they don’t count. Puh-lease. He’s pretty much the only one who I can honestly see caring about his patronages, organizations, and etc.
That last picture is priceless.
I’m already cringing about that slum visit. Two lazy, over-priveleged people posing and grinning amongst India’s poorest. Someone please save the British Monarchy.
Me too as you just know it will be awkward and she will be wearing an outfit that could feed and clothe everyone for a year.
Why do we want someone to save it?!
Because I like all the parades and pageantry stuff? I actually do like that. No one does pomp and pageantry like the Brits. Tough to do with PM InsertNameHere instead of someone in ermine robes and a gold stick.
😀
The pageantry just makes me snigger at the pomposity, I’m afraid, as if you hadn’t guessed already. I think it should all be consigned to the Tower of London, where we can goggle at it in exhibits (which I would find interesting).
My mum loved it all though, despite being a confirmed republican like me. She loved all that stuff, from the royal pageantry to the Lord Mayor’s Parade and all the rest of them. Bless her though – she was also an atheist but loved all the ceremonial in the big church services. Always watched those on TV, too. We sung a hymn at her humanist funeral to show this about her. The humanist celebrant thought we were hilarious!
I don’t think the British monarchy should go on beyond Charles. And I think that should be blamed on William. It costs too much and there’s not enough pay back to continue it. With W&K as its future, there doesn’t seem to be any necessity of it anymore. The money spent on the BRF should go instead to social programs for the regular folks. That makes more sense and is far more practical.
Maybe someone needs to find a previously unknown island, make the King and Queen and ship them and of course, PoorJason. The chap has probably spent the past fortnight chainsmoking(and maybe looking at the classifieds). May we CBers sponsor a Mustique getaway for the poor soul?
I’d chip in a tenner!
Can you imagine the questions she will ask? “Does being poor make you feel poor?”
She’s going to be as relatable to the common people as Barbra Bush was when she visited the Hurricane Katrina shelter.
I have always been a monarchist because I like the Queen and think she’s done a phenomenal job. I also don’t mind Charles, as he has also worked hard and created a role for himself, which can’t have been easy (I don’t care about their personal lives so much).
But these two are turning me into a republican. I used to think that it would be chaos and too much uncertainty. But I’ll be damned if they take first the Duchy of Cornwall income and then the Sovereign Grant and the Duchy of Lancaster income while doing no work. No way. F- that.
This! Charles is so engaged in the issues he cares about and has been for decades, particularly environmental issues and sustainable farming practices, and if you’ve heard him speak or read any of the private letters of his that were released a few months ago, it’s clear he’s a very eloquent and intelligent man. He’s definitely educated himself on the topics he cares about.
I do wonder what will happen to the monarchy post-Charles.
Maybe she’ll repeat the silly $4000 Diana-style military getup she wore to gawk at survivors of a riot.
How many of us predicted that Harry would be thrown under the bus to help make Normal Bill look better? Maybe Harry should disinvite his bro and SIL when they try to glom onto his Invictus Games.
The DM also just printed a piece about the Prince and Princess of Mustique and their “expensive cashmere embroidered by hand in India” bathrobes. The plebs will love that.
Wow. That’s actually super shitty that he threw Harry under the bus. And also total child logic to assume that people will stop caring about William not doing anything because Harry isn’t either…like if that were actually true it just serves to make everyone dislike both of them.
Harry seems to work a decent amount and really if he is partying….who cares. Unlike William, he isn’t married with kids. Presumably that should leave him more free time (jk because I assume the army of nurses and nannies Will & Kate have keep their schedules somewhat free too).
I really do wonder what those two do all day.
Serious question for those that know…. LAK, NOTA, etc
Why is so much of Harry’s work not recognised by the Court Circular?
Is it so that he doesn’t put his brother to shame? Or… ????
Thanks!
Because much of what he’s doing at the moment is not in support of the Monarch – he has his own interests (Invictus Games, Sentabale etc..) that he is pursuing. There isn’t really a need for him to have a large profile in support Her Maj (he’s not the heir) as that’s his brothers role (as heir) but as the Buckets are not going to step up, the spotlight is being shifted onto him as he will.
The big question is what do the Cambridges actually do?
Have cheese on toast. Just like the unwashed masses.
Ahhhh – Thanks Betti!
I like that Harry has interests…. his OWN interests … as opposed to the Buckets who don’t seem to be interested in anything other than themselves and vacationing!
@COSquared
-“Let them eat cheese toast.”
Why isn’t Harry’s work with wounded veterans counted as engagements or appear in the court circular? Serious question. What constitutes what appears in the court circular? These seem like charities Harry is patron of.
His 2-3 days a week volunteering at the military rehab is more like a replacement for his regular Army job. See Betti’s great explanation above. I think WWTW and Invictus should count as “for Crown” now but I’m not in charge.
I saw the itinerary somewhere. They’ll spend more time traveling from here to there than anything else. The ‘slum’ visit will likely be a quickie photo op. Meanwhile, did y’all read Richard Palmer’s article? I think it was in the Express. He calls on W&K to step it up.
Who didn’t see this coming? He’s so predictable. Talk about kids, bring up Diana, modern day man, throw Harry under bus. Sometime soon we’ll get an article of the yorks. It’s the same thing everytime he’s criticised.
We see you Jason!
Anyone have any guesses as to what William actually does all day? At least with Kate we know she shops, works out, shops, tans, shops, gets her hair done, shops, decorates and goes shopping. I’m not saying it’s a good use of time but I can at least see how that could fill up a couple hours per day.
Bumming around at Van Cutsem or Van Straubanzee country estates? Plotting his next excuse post-EAAA? So many possibilities…
Watching TV is a mindless activity that could turn into hours a day. Seriously — the answer is probably mind-boggling in simplicity.
These two are 30-somethings who act like 60-plus retirees (albeit very boring, predictable ones).
It’s unfair and totally predicatable that Harry is now thrown under the bus. That William the Shitty will go so low does not surprise me, but I really do wish Charles would do something about it – he seems quite close to Harry.
Can someone explain to me who understands this royalty stuff why Prince Harry’s weekly work with injured veterans doesn’t count as royal work? It seems like that would be a wonderful and important thing for princes to do?
Sorry I’m just trying to understand what constitutes royal work when all I hear about Harry really is his involvement with charity work. I mean honestly this makes me respect him more if he is just doing this out of the goodness of his heart and not Royal obligation then 😍😍😍😍 swoon. Bad move on Williams part he just looks worse IMO.
Sadly, in previous interviews with Will and Harry I have seen Harry speak a lot about his role as the spare. They way he spoke, it sounded like it was made clear from a very young age that his job is to support his brother in all ways. Taking dives and hits for the heir when needed is part of that. Its sad.
William and his pathetic press office are disgusting. To throw Harry under the bus because Billy Boy Middleton is a lazy, entitled, arrogant POS. Grow a pair Willy and man up or step aside and run off with your Yummy Mummy Knife Knees Queen Council Carol(e) and have your arse kissed for all of eternity.
In another article sent out on sunday, William blames his parents for his own poor work ethic. it’s quite interesting that he makes no distinction between Charles and Diana given his frequent use of the Diana card, but apparently his parents were absent or worked too hard therefore he is going to be a stay at home dad instead.
the other interesting bit about the new press strategy is that they aren’t denying that he is lazy and workshy, rather they are explaining it away by saying he deserves to be a work shy because he is a stay at home dad who had poor parents and anyway #whateverworkmeans. Sunday Express, Telegraph and Huffpo respectively.
the overriding message being that working parents are bad parents.
Does he not know that parents with caring responsibilities but without work can now only get benefits without conditions until their child is 3, not school age as previously? If he was a pleb, he’d be sent to Poundland on workfare for six months.
It’s just more proof that William refuses to ready himself to be the Crown Prince/Prince of Wales and may never be ready to be a monarch. So if the Queen dies today, there’s no way that William is capable of fulfilling the PoW position as his father has done. He wouldn’t be able to assist with the Prince’s Trust in as dedicated a manner as his father’s; he can’t do the traditional royal duties in full nor with the basic level of respect it deserves; he can’t manage the responsibilities of the Duchy of Cornwall as that requires extensive study and involvement; in all, he can’t be available to do much of anything for such a position. If he became King, he surely won’t be able to apply himself to the even greater number of responsibilities that position requires. Can you imagine him reading letters from the Red Box with any due diligence? Can you imagine how he’ll respond to the gray men when told that he’ll need to show up to work on a daily basis?
Everything he’s said and done is proof that he’ll do his best to escape his duties though he’ll be more than eager to take the money and the increased level of deference for each higher position, but he beyond that he’ll show himself to be mostly useless and incapable.
Actually not only does he try to get out of royal duties, he also doesn’t deliver on private duties or any sort of activity in his personal life.
so it isn’t just a problem for his professional life, it extends to his personal life.
^Remember the Anglesey days when PR sold the image of “normal RAF newlyweds” when neither seemed to be doing what’s being said? Bill barely making the minimum flying hours while Mrs. Bill split most of her time between MiddyManor and London. Same old BS, just a different day.
“So if the Queen dies today, there’s no way that William is capable of fulfilling the PoW position as his father has done.”
True, but his father had a huge advantage in this regard. Since his mother became the monarch when he was still a child, he didn’t have to wait around for ages before becoming Prince of Wales; wasn’t he around 21 when he formally entered the role, which had been vacant since Edward VIII’s coronation? In contrast, William is expected to take on the position at some indeterminate point later in life, when he will be expected to fill his father’s immense shoes without having had any practice. It’s not like you can do a dry run of something like that. I get that that’s what the “bespoke” Cambridge thing was supposed to provide, but as we know, learning something in a classroom doesn’t prepare you to actually do something on the ground, at least not years later!
Charles built the POW position in to what it is today. He has been the most successful, active POW in history. He could have sat around twiddling his thumbs, eating cheese on toast, and complaining – but he chose to use his position to make the world a better place.
There is no excuse for William “I want to choose my own path” Middleton. He has all the resources to make a real difference. Instead, he lies about working and hides away whining.
@ Ravine
William has been asked to help Charles in his PoW role. It’s been reported that as Charles takes over more of his mother’s job, he’s been asking William to help take over some of his Pow jobs. This is William’s prime opportunity to gain experience by learning on the job, though without the PoW title. Nobody is holding him back from doing so, except himself.
It’s been reported that Charles asked William to help with the Prince’s Trust, but that the latter said he was too busy working at his EAAA job to which he barely shows up. Then William said he’s going to make his own foundation sometime in his slacker future, so he can’t do the Prince’s Trust.
But….if William is serious about making his own foundation, then why not take up Charles’ offer and get some experience at the Prince’s Trust first?
As for that management course that was created just for him and was even given his own private dorm room, it’s been said that he never even finished that course, though he used it as an excuse not to do more royal duties, because he was too busy studying. Kinda like the bogus excuse he’s using the EAAA for.
So if he can’t do academics, then who’s stopping him from working and gaining experience by learning on the job? Again, his father has had to let go a lot of his own PoW duties in order to help take over some of the Queen’s duties, so he needs William to step up, do more duties, and gain experience. But William constantly refuses.
So it’s not like there’s no way William can get any experience without being the PoW, especially since his father has been trying to get William to do PoW duties.
Obviously he doesn’t understand quality versus quantity.
The other thing is there is something called a happy medium. You don’t have to be totally at home or totally gone. You can be somewhere in the middle.
This is the first time I remember that William has criticized Diana. He uses her as an excuse for everything, but that is in the role of Saint Diana destroyed by the press and royals. Now he’s trying to convince us that Diana working hard for the people means she was a BAD mother.
He must really be getting desperate.
There suddenly been a flurry of engagements added for the Buckets. Richard Palmer tweeted that they will be visiting XLP Project (to help young people with emotional problems) on March 11. He’s soo lazy he’s jumping on his wife’s bandwagon.
That was the same project they visited last year where the people they visited were terribly unimpressed by them and told the world’s media as much. one teen went as far as saying they were both out of touch and only visiting to look cool. dutifully reported then quickly scrubbed from the internet.
It is still on Victoria Murphy’s twitter but will soon be un-findable completely.
So the Daily mail writes a shitty story about Harry and that’s Williams fault? Well why don’t we blame the Syrian crisis on William or the lack of diversity in the US and we may as well add the falling oil prices while we’re at it. Talk about trying to bring a guy down! We don’t live with him to know his life and how he spends his time. This reeks of a smear campaign written by a bunch of petty journalists having a hissy fit because William won’t allow them to intrude upon his privacy. And the sheople lap it up!
W&K and Harry have the same PR team. They separated themselves from Charles’. Unfortunately, there seems to be a pattern of deflecting W&K’s faults by bringing attention to Harry’s as if he also has the same faults. It seems as if the KP PR team’s mission is to always protect W&K above and beyond Harry with him being the perpetual ‘fall guy.’
Sorry I find that ridiculous. The British press is relentless in their pursuit of a story that isn’t there so they make shit up. These young Royals don’t give them the dirt Charles and Diana did and they’re trying to make a story happen. W&K are far from perfect but they aren’t what the press is making them it out to be either. Its journalism at its worst.
Normal Bill has so much privacy that even his work is all super secret. 🙂
I have to agree with Maggie: we have no proof that W&K are behind this or any other negative Harry article.
It’s possible, yes. But it’s equally possible that, seeing all the clicks generated by the recent anti-W&K articles, the DM figured they’d milk the “lazy prince” controversy a bit more, but this time focusing on Harry, for variety’s sake.
If you think about it, that hypothesis is more intellectually sound. To believe it, you just have to believe that the DM is a for-profit business that churns out a lot of questionable gossip — which is undeniably true. But to believe the other, brother-vs-brother version, you have to believe that William is a petty, callous individual who instructs his staff to backstab his brother for him. Hmm, well, it’s possible… but you need a LOT of personal information to justify this belief. We don’t possess such information, because it concerns the private lives of very guarded individuals. We have photos, the occasional remark made in public, and that’s about it — the enormous gaps in between are filled with pure conjecture. If that conjecture seems like fact to you, it’s because you have gradually accepted one particular brand of conjecture as reality, while dismissing other piles of conjecture as nonsense. If I wanted to, I could start my own site and weave a different tale: that of Harry, scheming, jealous spare who tries to make his heroic brother look bad. I’d link to the same articles, but present the anti-W&K ones as blatant lies and the anti-H ones as spot-on. I’d select different pictures (less flattering of H, more flattering of W&K). I’d bring up H’s past scandals at the barest opportunity. You might scoff and say I’m full of s—, but can you disprove my version of events with hard evidence? Can you prove YOURS with hard evidence? No, We’re both essentially writing elaborate yet widely-divergent sagas based on the same random scraps of info.
Anyway, it’s not like the press has ever needed a real inside source to write this type of article. Glance at the CC, invent some fictional courtiers to raise fictional eyebrows, and lo — you’ve got yourself a plausible-enough-sounding royal story.
Additionally, this whole theory of their shared PR people “sacrificing” Harry whenever William effs up… I don’t know if I buy it. It damages Harry, which damages the Firm, which in turn damages W&K, so this just seems counter-productive, no? I would like to hear from someone with celebrity/political PR experience about whether this kind of strategy (viz. sabotaging one employer to benefit another) has any basis in reality. Until that borderline-conspiracy-theory angle is given some credibility, I will stick with the much more obvious conclusion: it was a slow news day.
It has been constant, supported by quotes from courtiers and the press. Harry has always taken the hit, just like Andrew, because that is what courtiers and press do to the spare.
Even in books about them as little kids, William would get away with something and Harry would be held accountable. He was used during by his father during the Camilla Campaign, as noted by several writers, and took it on the chin because that’s what you do. Never complain, never explain. William missed that memo.
@notasugarhere
Regardless of who stole whose toys when they were in diapers, you can’t presume someone’s guilt just because of a prior reputation. There is zero proof that W&K or their staff had anything to do with this story, period.
I didn’t state that W&K are responsible, read what I wrote.
I was commenting on the overall pattern, shown through William-Harry, Charles-Andrew, Elizabeth-Margaret. The heir has always been protected and coddled by press and staff and royal family, spare has always taken the brunt.
Sorry, I was using a general “you” there. I’m not disagreeing with you that that is (apparently) the BRF’s pattern. Just reiterating that re: the DM article, in the absence of hard facts, we can’t state conclusively that it was or wasn’t a PR manoeuver. Therefore, I agree with Maggie that some people are rushing to conclusions and making baseless accusations. Which, admittedly, isn’t a serious crime in a gossip site comment thread, but still — can’t we conduct our pointless debates in a rational manner? (Again, not talking about you specifically!)
W&K are the Osmosis Duo.
Anything that occasionally wafts through their lives, they soak up an expert’s amount of knowledge. That’s why Kate believes she’s gained so much mastery of the subject of mental health that she can be an editor of other experts and why she can tell you conclusively that good mental health is the result of being brought up the proper way. And that’s why William recently stated he gets involved in the medical side of his EAAA work. This claim seems to be based on his having sat in a copter with actual medics so that now he’s believes he’s something akin to a medical assistant. Then, because he spends even a little bit of time with Kate, he’s as into mental health as she is. And they, especially William, coattail onto Harry’s projects, thus absorbing credit for the latter’s work. But because they themselves are so lazy and work-shy, then of course as osmosis allows for flow the other way, Harry should soak up that character fault too so as to make W&K looks less bad.
And then they believe they can absorb Diana’s goodwill by copying visual aspects of her, her life, and memory (though not by copying her dedication and work. That’s one step too far). William also takes advantage of Diana’s death as if being said to have immersed himself in her tragedy can be used as a permanent excuse for his not growing into responsible adulthood. He takes only the worst of what happened to her, rather than using the best of her as his foundation, the latter of which is what Harry seems to have done.
Unfortunately, W&K will not take in anything from their experience in the Mumbai slums. She will arrive in attire worth more than a lifetime’s worth of the residents’ incomes while he will believe that his presence is a priceless gift from him to them.
I agree, there is a marked lack of substance to W and K’s claims of expertise or devotion to their areas of patronage. It is interesting that we don’t often see other royals take this tack with their patronages–they are there to support the experts and the cause, not to consider themselves experts.
I roll my eyes at the “launching a three-pronged approach” wording of the People article. A whole lot of talk and not much action. Although I see W & K are doing an event on March 11 so it appears March will not be wholly engagement-free for these two passionate advocates.
@ Tourmaline
‘It is interesting that we don’t often see other royals take this tack with their patronages–they are there to support the experts and the cause, not to consider themselves experts.
Yes, thank you. That’s it exactly. Your statement is so much better and more to the point than what I said. +1000
They are there to be the promoters, not the end-all-and-be-all. They’re the back-up support. But their egos are so huge and their charitable efforts so few, that in order to play up their work, they try to come off as being more involved in them than the other senior Royals with their respective patronages.
Wasn’t it said by their PR team that the only reason they won’t work with more charities is because they want to devote their focus onto the few they have? As if their contribution makes them more dedicated than the other senior Royals? As if they’re ‘working smarter, not harder?’
@anne_000
Yes – it is a smokescreen to create the optics of them working hard when they are barely working. They do not want to fulfill the traditional BRF role vis a vis patronages, so they need to act like they are behind the scenes working tirelessly to explain the fact that they actually pop up at these places pretty infrequently. Thus, KP terming everything as “their work” because it connotes a passionate and intensive devotion to their patronages. A devotion that is of course lacking in actuality.
I don’t recall seeing Camilla trumpeting her “work on osteoporosis” but she is definitely out there supporting that as part of her royal duties. Compare that to this quote:
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “The Duchess of Cambridge has made the mental health of young children a key focus of her work in recent years.”
I think he should be able to be a stay at home dad. They can live on Kate’s salary.
What?
@ suze
Best. Solution. Ever. on this topic.
Priceless.
Yes. Just yes. Would it be terrible if I steal that line? I promise to credit you, but I haven’t read anything that cuts through their BS better than this. Can you imagine their horrified faces if someone actually offered that as a solution? I think they’d flinch at such a blow.
I really object to the fact that this pair have chosen mental health as their cause to champion. It’s such a delicate and sensitive topic that is loaded with all sorts of triggers- you would need to be so highly attuned to the issues and facts in order to calibrate their involvement carefully enough. And they just aren’t heavyweight enough to do it. Whatever they say just rings very hollow because they have no gravitas or experience to substantiate what they say. In order to be in any way effective at this, they need to invest time, energy, commitment and above all, more than a token effort, to substantiate this cause and move it forward in any meaningful way. It shouldn’t be hard for #poorjason to start dealing with- maybe pencil in some ‘sightings’ at academic offices or ‘behind the scene’ meetings at centres or regular work experience with real charities. They just don’t lend any weight and it’s embarrassing.
You can’t be serious.
I take your point. Their involvement appears to be so superficial and weak-willed that it’s almost an insult to the importance of whatever cause they champion.
I suppose we are supposed to remind ourselves that the press coverage is good in and of itself. It will raise awareness.
@ Alexa de Vere
+1000. You’re totally right about them, but too bad they’re not smart enough to follow the strategy you’ve laid out.
Perhaps they can get some people — who wouldn’t have paid much attention had they not gone somewhere or guest edited something — to look into the subject in a more in depth manner and pay attention to people who do know what they’re talking about. I don’t think that we should slag them for taking on the subject; the slagging should start when they do nothing with it.
And when what they do is damaging, as her initial speech was? As others have written, this isn’t a topic for dilettantes.
Not to mention an insult to people who really do go above and beyond to help and assist people with mental health issues. The nhs and caring professions are at such a tragic financial place at the moment and these two swanning about in designer hear making shallow speeches really jar with the current atmosphere.
I’m no fan of any of the BRF, and I think there is a case to be made that people hold Harry to lower standards because he’s cute and charming. Two engagements is embarrassing, given he does not hold down even a part time job, and from what I’ve read, has not been slaving away for his volunteer work either. I get that he’s not the heir. But he could step up some, too. He’s still getting all the benefits, too, right?
+1 to this. Sure Harry isn’t the heir, and I agree he is cute and charming, but he could still be doing more. There are many, many members of the BRF who are neither the heir nor cute nor charming, but are still doing BRF stuff at a much greater volume. I know he does his veteran volunteering and Invictus role, but come on he has time to do more.
Several things:
1. Harry isn’t getting the benefits. He has been papped using the helo, but that seems to be his only extravagance. He lives in a cottage on the grounds of the palace. And it’s a proper cottage, not a rich person ‘cottage’ as described by his brother. No renovations or security upgrades to his cottage. He says he lives in KP, we have the receipts for that.
2. Only his official work is counted. He made 2 official visits and therefore he isn’t doing his bit for the Monarchy in terms of the necessary support for the Queen.
3. However, all his other work is not counted in that official record. He isn’t sitting at home or finding excuses not to work. All the reporters and organisations he works for acknowledge this extra work. this includes 2 days volunteering at a Wounded Soldiers recovery unit in London, *Behind the scenes work on Invictus, He has made several ‘private’ and or unannounced visits to his patronages. they were tweeted out after the fact. And when he makes a visit, officially or not, he stays hours. not a drive by pap stroll like WK. Those ‘private’/’unannounced’ visits don’t go into the calender so it looks like he is doing nothing like his brother.
*i am as sceptical as the next person whenever they say one of the royals is doing alot behind the scenes, however, with Harry’s previous Invictus event, we saw how involved he was in the Behind the scenes. He wasn’t just a visiting Royal who turned up to clap, give out prizes and go home. He was at organisational meetings throughout the games, he took part in some events himself, he was running around or cycling in some cases from venue to venue to ensure operations were running smoothly, he was cheerleading all those athletes. So when the organisation says that he is very involved in the next event, i believe them.
OK LAK, I am willing to pull back on my Harry work-shirking theory, as I see the Invictus Games in Orlando are less than 2 months away now so I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he really is doing more work than a figurehead for that. However I do quibble that he is not getting the benefits, he is living at KP in his Nottingham(sp?) Cottage at this point but I’m sure a lifetime of larger digs, a country house, etc. await him once he is no longer the bachelor prince.
Tourmaline: HM gifted all her kids with big mansions in adulthood. She hasn’t done the same for her grandkids. one could argue that all the grandkids are benefitting from the largesse shown to their parents since all adult grandkids are living on the parental estates, including Zara and Peter.
William is special. He is receiving more perks than his cousins and his own aunts and uncles by virtue of his status. Harry will receive the same as the cousins unless Charles decides to be generous in the same way that HM was generous with her kids. That country mansion/bigger apartment digs are not a guarantee for him especially as WK have more kids. It never happened for Andrew beyond the big country mansion, and he *is* HM’s favourite as well as being Duke of York, second son of the Monarch.
And the closer William gets to the crown as POW and then as HM, his perks only increase, including taking over CH and all the castles – or only Balmoral and Sandrigham if we’ve dismantled the monarchy by then.
Harry doesn’t get any more that what Charles chooses to give him. His status will be on a par with Andrew and Margaret and like Andrew he’ll have to figure out a way to make money.
i think he will be granted one residence by virtue of the slimmed down royal family needing to uphold status of the remaining members, but it’s not going to be on the scale of his aunties and uncles or his brother. i’ll be genuinely shocked if he receives as much as WK have at the moment.
I wonder if the plan might be for Harry to eventually take over Highgrove. Charles owns that Estate outright, I believe. Both Charles and Harry seem to have an interest in gardens and the ones Charles has developed at Highgrove are simply magnificent.
Charles doesn’t own Highgrove, the Duchy of Cornwall does. He cannot gift it to Harry unless he buys it back from the Duchy with his “private” money. If Charles wants it to go to Harry, he has to purchase it from the Duchy before HM dies, as William could refuse to sell it to him.
Charles has been trying to revamp Harewood since 2007, initially as a home for W&K but they broke up again. He finally has approval to build a new house, of his own design, on the property. If that ever gets built, he may move in there and let Harry live at Highgrove. Harry only gets to live at Highgrove IF the Duke of Cornwall lets him. When William is Duke of Cornwall, he can kick Harry out with no notice.
LAK is right. In comparison, Harry has about 1/50th of what W&K have in terms of perks/bribes for work. If we’re going to make them work according to their perks, Harry’s doing just fine.
LAK, William only gets Sandringham and Balmoral if Charles leaves them to him, provided HM leaves them to Charles. Charles would be free to leave them to Harry, or leave them to both brothers equally. Doubtful he’ll do that but as “private” property, it can be dispensed however the owner chooses.
“If Charles wants it to go to Harry, he has to purchase it from the Duchy before HM dies, as William could refuse to sell it to him.”
Are you sure? The Wikipedia page for “Prince of Wales” seems to suggest that the PoW title (and therefore estate, I guess) does not just shift to the next heir apparent when the monarch dies:
“The title is granted to the royal heir apparent as a personal honour or dignity … The title is not automatic and is not heritable; it merges into the Crown when a prince accedes to the throne, or lapses on his death leaving the sovereign free to re-grant it to the new heir-apparent (such as the late prince’s son or brother). Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales on 26 July 1958, some six years after he became heir-apparent …”
So it sounds like if Charles REALLY wanted to buy it, and didn’t get around to it before becoming king, AND had reason to believe William wouldn’t sell, he could delay giving him the title for a bit. I mean, it might not be advisable politically, but it would technically be possible.
The Prince of Wales title and Duchy of Cornwall titles are separate. The POW title is awarded, the Duchy of Cornwall is automatic/inherited. HM passes, Charles immediately becomes king and Duke of Lancaster, William immediately gets the Duchy of Cornwall. LAK, Sixer, Betti is this right?
HM didn’t get the Duchy of Cornwall because she wasn’t the male heir, so they had to go to Parliament to get some of the income from the estate to fund Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh and her husband.
Ah, I see. Makes sense. I assumed the two just came as a set, but of course it’s never that simple with royal titles, is it…
Just FYI, People online had out a story yesterday (with pics) of Harry at the Univ. of Bath fields cheering on Invictus Games hopefuls and giving a speech, of which People has quotes.
This was probably not counted on the Court Circular, but it showd that Harry does spend his personal time at work. He doesn’t make the biggest show of his appearances like W&K do. He really needs to get his own PR team and not share with W&K.
As I understand it only work in support of the Monarch is recorded in The Court Circular, hence why Harry’s personal persuits such as this are not put in it. Harry’s take after Charles in that respect, he’s out there making his own path. Charles is PoW and he didn’t let that stop him from doing his own thing and pursuing things that he is interested and passionate about. Look at all the great work the Princes Trust does and the Built Envrionment – there is NO excuse for Normal Bill. If his father and brother can do it so can he.