Prince William: I’m trying to do small-r royalty ‘differently’ & ‘for my generation’

This is just a small aside, but the royal rota was pissed last week when Prince William gave an exclusive interview to Sky News when he was in South Africa. They had been diligently embiggening him and he gave a self-pitying exclusive to their rival! So, obviously, Roya Nikkhah at the Times yanked on William’s chain and wouldn’t you know, she got an exclusive too. This is literally the most we’ve heard from Prince William directly in years. Hilariously, these interviews and public comments should have been William platforming Earthshot and, you know, the work itself. Instead, William makes it all about himself, as always. Some highlights from the Times’ interview with Huevo:

William on how he sees his royal role: “I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation. And to give you more of an understanding around it, I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like. So it’s more about impact, philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.”

He spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about Israel & Palestine: Sources close to William say he continues to “follow the conflict closely” but it is understood the issue is deemed too sensitive for further public interventions.

His public work with focus on projects on the environment, homelessness and mental health: “I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well because I really care about what I do. It helps impact people’s lives and I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world. So that’s what I’m trying to bring, that’s what Catherine is trying to bring as well. I sit here right now doing Earthshot and projects like Homewards [his homelessness project] as well — and who knows what’s going to come next — but it all centres around those values of trying to help deliver change and make those lives better.”

On Kate’s recovery: “I think hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so we’ll have some more trips maybe lined up,” he said. It is understood the couple plan to visit several European destinations in 2025, but without Prince George, 11, Charlotte, 9 and Prince Louis, 6. William said: “Family-wise, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer because obviously they’re at school and I think that takes priority over everything else.”

The toll on William: A close friend of William’s said coping with his father and wife’s illness had “taken a huge toll” on the prince, adding: “He’ll be OK if Catherine is OK.”

The Cop29 conference next year: His attendance at next year’s Cop alongside world leaders is part of William’s developing statesman role, which aides say is now a “golden thread” running through his work.

[From The Times]

As a long-time reader of British royal reporting, you have no idea how much I laugh whenever William’s people start yammering about “the golden thread.” It is the most idiotic expression I’ve ever heard to describe William and Kate’s abject laziness and aimlessness. William wanders around, doing f–k all and then he says, no, all of that was part of the golden thread of my work. Kate does it too – circa 2018, suddenly Kate’s work had a “golden thread” AND a five-question survey!

“I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like. So it’s more about impact, philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.” It’s almost like he sees himself as a self-styled, independent philanthropist and activist like… Prince Harry. I thought the whole point of William’s existence is that HE is better than Harry because William has the platform, the palaces, the attention, the media and the slumlord money. William has been screaming “AREN’T YOU JEALOUS OF ME, HARRY?” for years. William’s people even told reporters that Harry would never be able to survive without the monarchy’s golden thread. Turns out, the monarchy’s golden thread isn’t worth much.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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79 Responses to “Prince William: I’m trying to do small-r royalty ‘differently’ & ‘for my generation’”

  1. Yes he is doing it differently. He is taking the money and not doing the events and appearances like QEII did. He is phoning it in with the most stupid comments showing just how inept he really is. He will burn it down and then wonder what happened.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Why has he started talking about Kate now? He completely ignored questions about her before South Africa.

    • PC says:

      @ SUSAN COLLINS, Yeah, I can see it. One day, in the not too distant future, we will find William, sitting on the curb outside Buckingham Palace, with an eviction notice in his hand. There he will be, with his crown cocked to one side while he scratching his bald head on the other side, saying to himself, “But is seemed so sensible at the time”. LOL!

    • HuffnPuff says:

      Just another mediocre white male who thinks he’s owed respect for who he is. When will the world be sick of them enough to stop giving them oxygen?

  2. sevenblue says:

    He knows we know that he is disgustingly rich, right? He can actually change people’s lives if he wishes. Perhaps, he can start with repairing the moldy homes he is renting.

  3. seaflower says:

    Small “r” royal – do nothing, but get paid the same.

  4. somebody says:

    Isn’t this a “slap in the face” to QE, Phil and Chuck? Ironic when you consider all of them had things with more impact than anything PW has managed to do.

    • Unblinkered says:

      Exactly.
      “So it’s more about impact, philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people”. That’s what his father as PoW did six days a week for best part of fifty years through The Prince’s Trust and The Prince’s Foundation. But W declined to step up and run them as Charles did……
      Why?
      Because W is a lazy sod.

  5. Becks1 says:

    What is he blabbing on about, small r royalty? Convening people so that he doesn’t have to do the work?

    I feel like all we hear from KP is all the ways W&K intend to do less and less and time goes on and that’s okay bc it’s small r royalty.

    (The irony is that when I think of “small r” in this context I think of the republican movement.)

    • Harla says:

      When I read small “r”, I immediately thought of the republican movement as well perhaps William is telling us something that we should be listening to? The Wales’ are definitely big “C” conservatives, in a different world I could totally see them as Billy and Katie living in the Maga trailer park in Florida, living on Billy’s “disability” check and watching Fox News all day. I’m beginning to think that those worlds aren’t so different.

    • Gabby says:

      Yes, the mention of collaboration and convening are all about piggybacking off the work of others and slapping his name on it to bask in the adoration. What a big L Lazy, big A Asshole.

    • LDMiddx says:

      William’s speeches sound as though he scribbled them down 5 minutes beforehand on the back of an envelope.

      ‘royal with a small r’ – what does that even mean? It is only due to his royal status that he is given the platform he has.

      “I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well because I really care about what I do”. In my experience: people who are genuinely empathetic and caring rarely self-identify as being so. Because it is so instinctive and natural for them to be that way that it doesn’t even occur to them to mention it. And they tend not to be slumlords…..just saying.

      “So it’s more about impact, philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.” A few more soundbite words to ‘throw in there as well’ to make him look and sound good. But nothing there that is substantial or concrete about how he intends to make real positive impact. I am afraid that I am not convinced that he is concerned about any more than superficially looking good.

      • kirk says:

        In my former investigative work, whenever people started describing themselves in qualitative terms was the point when I started mentally comparing the evidence compiled to date against their self-serving descriptions.

    • Nic919 says:

      He’s just saying bullshit because he’s biding time until he has top job. He won’t have to wait as long as his father did.

      But yes small r should mean smaller amounts of money for the lazy duo.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        This! A smaller ‘r’, means less work and appearances with a big raise, multiple homes, boring asf appearances/interest in them and wow, they’re awesome for nothing.

  6. Xantha says:

    There are men out there whose hotness skyrockets when they sport a beard. Slum Lord Willy is NOT one of them. And yeah, he’s just going to sit on his ass and collect the money. He’s a stateman the same way I look like Zendaya.

    I don’t look like Zendaya.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      He looks so much better when the top of his head is covered. I’m not saying he looks good, but much much better. Even the beard looks like it covers his face more evenly with the hat on. And the big coat is covering his thinning frame and bad posture, so this look is a win for him.

    • Josephine says:

      He’s really giving small-time dictator that is going to get obliterated by James Bond in some creative and awful way in that beard and get-up.

  7. Maxine Branch says:

    There is nothing about William that makes you take him seriously. He has squandered whatever good will he may have had by being a slumlord. He has nothing of effort to distinguish him from the average citizen on the street. His pronouncements only highlights how disingenuous he is. All the years of looking and listening were wasted. He is an empty vessel.

    • Harla says:

      I’d argue that he wasted the good will he had by doing f@ck all for decades, bleating on about privacy, how he can’t do any royal work while he was a SAR pilot (caught in that lie), all while ensconced on his private estate in Norfolk.

    • Debbie says:

      Shame on you guys, are you forgetting about William’s empathy? I’m going to throw empathy in there, so says William, because as with everything else with him, you don’t really need to live it, or work on something. Just announce it, express your keenness, and you’re done. So, everyone please pay attention to William’s empathy.

  8. Nanea says:

    “I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation.”

    He’s failing. Failing gloriously, because he has no ideas, no concept, and no work ethics, for starters. And it seems the Men in Grey and the gold-plated advisers couldn’t care less.

    “He spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about Israel & Palestine”

    Yeah, well, no. Not according to official sources in South Africa, who mentioned a few minutes worth of photo opportunities.

    • Eurydice says:

      William’s always trying to do this, trying to do that. And he’s not even failing gloriously, because that would mean some kind of heroic effort. He’s just a dilettante, with no real commitment to anything. I think the Men in Grey prefer it that way – if he was determined they wouldn’t be able to control him.

    • Xantha says:

      So, you’re saying…he doesn’t even have a concept of plan on how to be a King?

      *Ducks tomatoes*

  9. 809Matriarch says:

    That golden thread is about as idiotic as Trump’s the weave.

    • Jais says:

      Well Trump’s sleazy and indecipherable weave apparently won him the election and has much of the white male youth enthralled. So maybe William can just lean into his trumpisms. Worked for trump. Sorry, I’m feeling cynical this morning😂

      • Tessa says:

        William is strictly m a g a now.

      • Square2 says:

        Oh, he has no worries about being Uk’s King in the future. Like the white male youth in America being indoctrinated by right-winged podcasters & media, the Brits are indoctrinated since early childhood to accept the existence of BRF, having a Monarch as head of states & paying their upkeep. The BRF will live on till the day the Earth distinguish.

  10. Neeve says:

    I want to know why they excluded Kates name on the wreath this year?

    • Hypocrisy says:

      The wreath was His! And only His! Waity should know this by now🤪.. just like everything else he wants sole credit for in his life. Whatever he does or doesn’t do with the monarchy I just hope the public and government decides it’s time for huge pay cut for lack of work and results.

  11. Noor says:

    Really this fella, rather rude when your father, the king , is still around to talk about your reign.

    Big R or small r , the bottomline is the cost. To start with William should be paying all taxes and come under all laws as applicable to ordinary citizens not only because it is a legal requirement for all citizens but because it is his civic duty to do so.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      It would also help people if he stopped making huge profits off rents from the NHS and various charities. Then they have more money to actually help people instead of paying huge rents to a man who already gets a lot of taxpayer money.

      • Chrissy says:

        As a healthcare worker, that little tidbit of info really bothered me. There are a lot of countries with increasing health care waiting lists but the fact there is a straight line from the long list to this jackass personally profiting from money that could improve people’s lives, really makes me angry. Why doesn’t the British public rise up and address this abomination? Is it their reserve or their famous hands-off approach to the RF as an institution? I just don’t get it why there are no mass protests in the streets as we speak!

  12. Noor says:

    Really this fella, rather rude when your father, the king , is still around to talk about your reign.

    Big R or small r , the bottomline is the cost. To start with William should be paying all taxes and come under all laws as applicable to ordinary citizens not only because it is a legal requirement but because it is his civic duty to do so.

  13. Leesa says:

    He’s going to “throw some empathy in there”? Spoken like someone with zero empathy.

    • Eurydice says:

      It’s like he thinks empathy is a spice or something, instead of a main ingredient. “You know what this soup needs? A dash of oregano.”

      • Moniquep says:

        Lol. My immediate thought reading it was, can someone bring me a spoon of empathy! I NEED SOME EMPATHY STAT!!

    • Unblinkered says:

      He should think about throwing some empathy in the direction of his tenants, all of them, by reducing their rents and improving their properties.
      Henceforth, the media must judge him by his actions not his sound bites.

  14. Monika says:

    The BM still does not dare to ask Willy about financial situation and the investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times. They also do not dare to ask him about his brother Harry and their relationship.

    If you have to point out that you have empathy then you definitely do not have empathy.

    • HuffnPuff says:

      Exactly. Every time he talks about what he intends to do, it’s like he’s trying to talk himself into it. It’s pretty clear who in that family got the empathy gene and it sure as heck wasn’t him. So keep trying, Huevo.

  15. Alicky says:

    Who got the Earthsh-t awards this year, anybody know? Didn’t think so. He’s such a useless putz.

  16. LauraD says:

    William could have done so much to improve his PR if he had come out and said he had taken matters in hand when he took over his father’s slum houses. The Slumlord is telling everyone how different things will be when he’s in charge but, after the Dispatches documentary we can all see how everything will stay EXACTLY the same. William’s words (like those of his father) mean absolutely nothing while we’re paying him to rip off charities, and the armed forces. Whether the r is small or large Slumlord Willy is royal, and he will be king. He knows it, we know it and the whole fcuking world knows it. Of course, he’ll get the respect which goes with the title but, please don’t expect the people to respect the man when he tells us for the umpteenth time that he’s here to help and proceeds to do absolutely F all!

  17. Tessa says:

    His generation he says. William is over 40 and acts and looks older. All the catherine talk is tedious

  18. Steph says:

    Public intervention? Does he really think he’s in a position to do something? Israel is backed by so many countries. Super powers. He really does think super highly of himself. His arrogance is astounding.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      His job is not to be political. He cannot be a statesman because he is to be a ceremonial Head of State. If he blunders to much into politics he undermines his future constitutional role. He really is dumb as a rock.

      • Steph says:

        Right. He can’t comment on it at all, never mind do anything. It was a ridiculous statement all around.

  19. Lady Digby says:

    King is back to full schedule next year: 2 RTs and at least 450 engagements. Heir’s vagueness over royal with a small r actual meaning plus more waffle about empathy and convening? More 2 parters of Will striding about holding a folder and looking concerned with an empathetic tilt of the head? Once Will is King we will get the pre recorded Christmas speech and and a lot of light kinging from him. Royal with a small r, my backside!

  20. Jennifer says:

    This fool is tugging at my petty and messy heartstrings 🤣 … who did he either give this interview to or for. Because “who’s going to tell him…” that when it comes to even a square inch past British soil HE HAS BEEN FIGURED OUT. And now all the performative acts, double decker word salad courses, Mumblina Middleton appearances and cosplay is just NOT going to work. When is he EVER going to realize that he’s never going to win whatever one sided antiquated game of monarchy checkers 🤔 😒 Does this “global statesman” realize we see clearly that the emperor has NO clothes and just a ratchet beard??

    But sure, keep going. I mean why not, I guess. If anything I’ll enjoy the comic relief especially going into the next four years.

    • antipodean says:

      @Jennifer…you have made my morning! I just loved this, and it encapsulated the basic Willy, in a nutshell. He has indeed been rumbled by those who can see the nose on their faces, and he can blather on endlessly about this and that as much as he likes, BUT he will always be an essential waste of space, and a slumlord empty suit!!!!!!

  21. Dee says:

    Does differently include signing the card that goes with the wreath with only his signature and leaving out Catherine’s? This detail has not gone unnoticed.

    • Chrissy says:

      He just informed us that they are separated, and that, she will remain an ever-shrinking non-entity, only there for official events, as long as Carole and her enablers are still around. Then we might finally see a divorce IMO.

  22. Jennifer says:

    *If this appears twice, sorry*
    I’m sorry but this fool is tugging on my petty heartstrings…
    “Whose gonna tell him…”
    I mean who is this interview supposed to be for or to?! Does he really not know or think or is even aware that one inch outside of the British borders WE ALL SEE HIM FOR WHAT HE REALLY IS. Honestly. There is no amount of word salad courses, empty performative acts, Mumblina Middleton appearances and cosplay to make up that THE JIG IS UP. Sir, the emperor has NO clothes and unfortunately for the WORLD and more importantly for the British citizens you personally and as a monarchy … we all see this. At this point in the game you’ve got to know that WE know. But maybe I’m giving you too much credit.

    Anyway, fine, keep trying. If anything I’ll just be here, enjoying the clown show, it may take the edge off for the next 4 years.

  23. Amy Bee says:

    William wishes he had the life that Harry has and his interview only confirms that he pays very close attention to what Harry and Meghan have done since they’ve left the UK. As Kaiser said, we’ve been told that being a working royal was the be it and end all and here comes William saying he wants to be like Harry.

  24. ThatGirlThere says:

    “I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation. And to give you more of an understanding around it, I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like. So it’s more about impact, philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.”

    His generation – millennials are struggling to buy homes, low wage jobs and unemployment. How is any of that lower case royaling doing anything for his generation. Willy is delusional.

  25. Beverley says:

    Hey Slumlord Willy, to actually “do things differently” for your generation, you could return the millions of taxpayer dollars to the people and refuse to accept any future sovereign grants. That would be a strong beginning for reforms. Or on a lesser scale, simply bring your rental properties up to code.

    But we know you wouldn’t do this, because you’re “anointed” to rule and you want ALL the money.

  26. QuiteContrary says:

    What a useless tw*t.

  27. QuiteContrary says:

    He’s just so useless and ineffective and stupid.

  28. Gabby says:

    Slumlord Willy knows good and damn well that Harry is not jealous of him, was never jealous of him and never will be jealous of him. That jealousy, my friends, goes in the other direction.
    The evidence is in Willy’s dead eyes. Every picture, the deadest of eyes.

  29. JR McGraw says:

    “I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well because I really care about what I do.”

    To me, this is the clearest indication he does not give a flying f*ck about “what he does” (Dude, didn’t you take most of last year off?) He knows the world admires and respects his brother for his genuine passion for his philanthropic work and he’s just trying to imitate it. Pathetic.

  30. Julie says:

    What a performative clown 🤡. He sounds completely absurd talking about empathy and while trying to cosplay Harry. He has no empathy for the public or his wife (not that I care about Karen). Everyone can see through this public relations BS. Just stop it already and shut up.

  31. Lau says:

    If he wants to be doing it differently and do less work he should also be paid accordingly. You can’t be any lazier than this guy I swear.

  32. tamsin says:

    Everything is just word salad. He really doesn’t know what he’s talking about. “…smaller r, throw in empathy..” is utter gibberish. He’s throwing in what buzz words he thinks sounds good. Clearly tells me he has no understanding of empathy or what it is if it’s something he thinks he and Kate can just ‘throw in.” He’s too inarticulate to cover up his own short comings at all. And William was touted as the “bright one.” Good lord!

  33. Anonymous says:

    Small r royalty but with big P privileges incl ripping off the country for tax payers money? How does that compute?

  34. Andrea says:

    Wow he looks gaunter than ever in that indoor photo. Are we sure he isn’t the one who has cancer??

    • Anna says:

      There is sth going on with him, Kate looks like always, but Will looks like something is eating him from the inside. Is is illness? Is is guilty or fear that whatever he did will come out?

  35. Maremotrice says:

    Why does he get away with using his children being at school as an excuse not to go on trips abroad? My parents had jobs that took them on occasional business trips abroad – typically a 2-day conference a few times a year. I never felt abandoned, especially as they always made a point of sending me a postcard or bringing back a little souvenir. Isn’t it part of bringing up the next generation of working royals that they’re made aware that there’s a world outside their window – I mean Windsor – full of people to meet and new experiences to discover? Or am I missing the point here?

  36. Sid says:

    The British Royal Crime Family really is one of the world’s longest running scams. Look at this clown.

  37. Morning says:

    Didn’t he have brain damage as a child?

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