This is getting hilarious. It seems that all of the criticism Prince William has been getting from the various papers this past week has gotten under Kensington Palace’s skin. Kensington Palace issued a statement about William’s work schedule, throwing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under the bus to do so, but CAA isn’t having any of that BS and issued their own statement to counter KP’s defense.
William only works about 80 hours per month (two-thirds what a full-time pilot works), taking part in a four days on, four days off rotation in his role as co-pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Which means he has about 20 days off a month. But KP (via a “source”) says it’s totally not possible for William to squeeze in any extra royal duty appearances because “there are mandatory rest days enforced by the CAA, when you’re not meant to go off and do other work because it’s not rest”.
CAA isn’t having any of KP’s BS. Their spokesman said:
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“It’s true that you can only work a certain number of hours in any given period, but to suggest that pilots can’t do anything else on some rest days is totally unenforceable. When they are having rest days their time is their own, and they can do what they want, including carrying out royal duties. We check pilots’ shift patterns and the Duke is fully complying with CAA rules within the rota he is working, so his days off are his own.”
To that, the KP source responded by saying that William’s diary had to include enough rest between his various roles as a pilot and as a working member of the Royal family (’cause, you know, royal duties are just so exhausting he needs to rest before going back to piloting).
A Kensington Palace spokesman said:
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“The Duke is incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to carry out his skilled work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. It is a great opportunity to connect directly with the community and he considers it very rewarding to be part of a team that provides such a valuable, and often life-saving, public service.”
Excuses, excuses. This is getting fun. Clearly the press criticism has ruffled some feathers – I wonder if it’s William’s feathers or just KP’s and William doesn’t even know about all the criticism he’s gotten. Ah man, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
William added an engagement to his schedule, by the way. William will visit Cardiff on February 26, this Friday, to attend the 6 Nations Wales v France game as well as attend a reception for injured rugby players and their families. William is Vice Royal Patron of the The Welsh Rugby Union. I wonder how much of the press will show up to cover this event – it’d be great if no one showed up.
Oh My, This is just a great. I think that within a month they will be announcing that he will be leaving the CAA to focus on his Royal Duties.
I think that it shows that some people in the CAA are fed up with Workshy Willie.
I think this is an early birthday present for you Tanya! 🙂
Good on CAA for clarifying the regulations very firmly and clearly. They stopped short of revealing William’s actual work hours so he is still covered to an extent, unless his colleagues let slip the figures (please, oh, please do).
I’ll bet William has been spinning that line about ‘rest’ to HM and PC for ages. So he’s been sprung. Ha! Hoisted by his own vanity. Love it.
I was thinking that when I read it Jenny LOL.
Happy birthday for today (Wednesday Australian time) Tanya. Hope it doesn’t get too hot today… hopefully you live near a harbour breeze.
Thanks so much Jen, I had a great day, spent inside as it was about 39 outside. I hate the heat LOL. My day started with an excited four year old giving me my present of chocolates while I was on the loo LOL. She couldn’t wait! She then kept on telling me during the day, “That you should share your chocolates with little children”. I had a great day today and lunch out with just Hubby and I!
Little children like her? That’s totally something I would have done as a kid: “Here mom, these are for you… Don’t you want to share them with me?”
Glad you had such a good day. Gee, 39 is sooo hot and miserable, especially with the humidity. Like you, I can’t bear the heat. How generous of your daughter to help herself to your chocolates!
Yes KMR little children like her LOL.
Oh Jen, the humidity has been terrible. Mummy hid the chocolates up in a high place so madam could not reach them. Mummy loves her Lindor Lindts LOL.
I love how specific the CAA was in specifically stating that royal duties could be carried out. Oh, what a smackdown! The CAA isn’t condoning any of William’s excuses.
His colleagues admitted what his schedule is really like, off the record. The higher-ups issuing statements that he really IS working? Way to hack off the hard-working people who are doing the real work.
I had hoped that since EAAA is a private company, the higher-ups wouldn’t cover for William like the military did. I think that is why he left SAR – because an incoming private American firm wasn’t going to treat a “prince” with kid gloves and lie about his work ethic.
His colleagues have complained that he is more off than on. That means that whatever work hours he is contracted to do, be they 80 or 200, he is still NOT working to the agreed total.
We were told at the beginning that he would have a limited schedule so that he could fit in his royal duties, but he is not fulfilling the terms of that limited schedule hence the complaints.
And it says a lot that KP are throwing CAA under the bus to explain his laziness away AND using legalese ie wording of contract/industry guidelines to pretend he is fulfilling his obligations. Ie contract and industry rules say you work for 80hrs. Unfortunately, William doesn’t do 80hrs, and THAT is the problem.
Props to KP for giving it the good old college try, yet there will be people who will believe it.
It says much for KP trying to cover this up because they’ve invoked Charles and the Queen in order to make it all ok. Ie use legalese language like the best slippery lawyer, claim it’s all CAA’s fault, AND throw Charles and Queen in there too. See which of the above sticks.
If that fails, look to new baby pics in 3 2 1
And if that fails, a negative article about the Yorkies or Harry or both which will leave impression that they are worse than William.
I’d be interested to know how far under the 80 hours per month William has been working. It looks as if he has been playing EAAA against royal duties, doing as little as possible for both.
The whole debacle smells of William’s inability to accept criticism. I can imagine him ordering Jason to use the contract/industry guidelines, not thinking for a moment that CAA would come back with the truth.
He is doing what he did with the RAF.
Difference here is that RAF shielded him whilst CAA aren’t prepared to do so.
When he took this job, many people pointed out that he would be in for a rude awakening on this point.
Good. I hope CAA plays it straight down the line. Despite the fawning rhetoric, EAAA must be heartily sick of him as are his colleagues.
I also hope that he isn’t given any(more) special treatment by EAAA. I’m sure all of his co-workers would rather have a colleague with a hardworking attitude who actually showed up for shifts. I know I would be spiteful towards a colleague who only turned up when they felt like it. I think it’s natural for anyone to. I’m sure there are others who would gladly and enthusiastically take William’s job at EAAA and actually show up!
His job was manufactured for him as an add-on at EAAA. It may be that they only use the co-pilot helicopter when he is on shift, or send out the smaller helo when William slags off again.
I’m sure he was blind sided with the response by the CAA. Heh heh heh. I mean he’s ***THE prince*** and all. This is getting better and better by the article. His little tantrum didn’t work with the big boys and I wonder if Jason gets any sleep at night. As an American you might think that Jason would have advised KP to zip it and let it blow over but I can see William frothing at the mouth and demanding that Jason do something about those nervy reporters who dare to criticize him. Hope this is just the first volley, and I would almost bet that his co workers in the EAAA are snickering.
I wonder what the work atmosphere is like amongst them now? Clearly, someone blabbed so Wills will go ballistic. There is also resentment from his colleagues that he’s not doing his bit. I guess he won’t care about the resentment (he is a Prince), but has got to be paranoid about the loose lips.
I say he will be gone by mid-summer.
“If that fails, look to new baby pics in 3 2 1”
Herazeus, after the gorgeous pictures we’ve gotten from the Bhutan and Swedish royal families this week they’d better be darned good and show some genuine interaction with the parents. Not stranded together on a beige sofa or green plaid chair looking off camera at someone trying to get a reaction out o them. I also don’t really want to see anything taken by Kate.
Lindsey, I am with you. I worked a job where I had to sit across from a person who made tons more money than I did and since she was ‘special’ spent her days knitting. Resentment, for sure, and it’s delicious to see the little prince find out that being a little prince and Diana’s first born isn’t the shield he assumed it would be. Called out. Love it love it love it, and this is on the heels of the ‘she’s not the expert on Children’s Mental Health’ just because she dresses like one, the shopping trip. Dare I hope that the House of Middleton might just be coming under fire. KP trying to defend him and the CAA saying ‘BS’ is just absolutely sweet!!!
Uh-oh, they’re here: https://www.instagram.com/princegeorgepictures/
Wow… These magazine and media spreads make me laugh… “Meddling, workshy, throne-idle, lazy, Baldy” etc, lol!!! I live reading the comments on the DM… The worst ones seem to come from Brits too! ROFL!
It’s interesting that so many of the negative comments are from Brits, but I guess that it makes sense because they are the one’s footing the bill! From an American perspective, I just find it lazy and unbecoming of his duties. However, if I were a taxpayer supporting someone who was born into this and then only reaping the privileges without putting in their end of the deal, I would be livid and probably one of the first to push for a republic or, at least, a privately funded monarchy.
Wow, I’m almost tongue tied at this salvo from both sides. Oh you bet William read everything and so did Kate. He’s probably frothing at the mouth at this point. Kudos to CAA for not kowtowing to the Firm.
I am also cognizant of aviation rules and CAA is correct—you can do whatever you want during rest days, except fly. But if you want to run a 100-mile marathon or swim across the Atlantic, you are not breaking any rules. Puhleeze, how strenous are his royal duties?
Kimothy–we need more popcorn. The suspense is killing me!
His royal duties are, like, super stressful, Yorkie. William has to shower and put on a suit, and he has to, like, talk to peasants. You just don’t understand how stressful talking to peasants is. William has to, like, pay attention and nod his head – nod his head, Yorkie! That’s super stressful!
He also might be required to pull his “I’m concerned” face. Its super hard.
The poor thing, it is no wonder he needs all of those days off. Oh the poor thing having to talk to peasants and pretend to be concerned. It is a wonder he can function on some days.
Come on KMR, all that jaw clenching takes a lot out him. One day they are going to be releasing that he’s been diagnosed with bruxism and then we’ll never see him work again. Leave the poor guy alone! 🙂
Hahaha.
I would like some extra butter on mine please Kimothy.
Of course! **hands Tanya S. her container of popcorn drowning in butter** 😉
**hands Yorkie popcorn, soda, and napkins….lots of napkins** Comfy Yorkie? 🙂
Y’all are so funny!!
I think it is the start of open season on the Cambridge’s. Maybe they will begin to see it is time to behave like responsible adults.
With every passing year they seem less mature. They want what they want. End of story.
Finally the chickens are coming home to roost for the Cambridges- as the saying goes. Get the BBQ, beer and the games ready everyone- it’s PARTY TIME!
“the chickens are coming home to roost”
we say that in my family too 🙂
And in this case it appears to be very appropriate?
Very interesting LOL. Now I need to go read KMR post in full only read my email arrival. This a hmmmm moment.
Oh, this is good. I read it this morning and I had a good laugh. I’m really curious to see if their PR about what essential work William does turns the tides temporarily, as it some times does. Many people–and this just from random comments here and there, including of all places when I was poking about Reddit the other evening and it came up–think William is fabulous and his job is great, so I think it does work… But people will start being more critical, I’d imagine. I hope…
“essential work”…
William has been scheduled to attend rugby game on Friday. No joke. LOL!!!
Ahh more mixing with the peasants. He has it so hard the poor thing.
What is really telling to me is that these shots are being fired and the queen still reigns. I’ll bet the palace people are in an uproar. Shall we all donate money for antacids for Jason, or buy stock in Tums. I don’t know what the powers that be think that the average IQ of their citizens is but just read Kip’s post. A rugby game. Seriously, a rugby game. Beggars belief. **beggar belief (or description ) be too extraordinary to be believed or described.**
The dm is printing will works 80 hours a MONTH in his defense because he’s a “modern working husband and father”. First off, having two kids and essentially a stay at home wife WITH nannies is not very modern.
My husband works close to 80 hours a week and still manages to be there for our two kids. Everyone has a different perspective on really working hard for what you have I guess.
Sorry, not trying to sound bitchy but the fact that they are defending those hours and making him seem busy is kinda rude and pretentious.
Yup. I only have one kid, but same here. My husband works his butt off and is still available and co-parents with me, as he should.
It beggars belief KP think the populace are this dumb, honestly. So CAA admits he doesn’t work the regular rota they agreed upon when the whole deal was first publicized, calls KP confused and calls ’em out on their rubbish. Sounds like they are n’t happy dealing with Petulant Prince either and perhaps will not protect him like the RAF did.
I know plenty of single parents too, that work extremely hard to provide for their kids and be loving, involved parents. I know a woman who gets three hours of sleep due to working two jobs to provide for her kids. Dad killed in a car accident. There are endless examples of people that are making genuine sacrifices for their kids and these two scroungers do not deserve any respect or sympathy. I don’t find it modern to have nannies and live off taxpayers, while not fulfilling Royal duties at all. They are revolting and I’m happy to see the kid gloves being taken off in the press. Don’t think their kids are going to inherit much more than money and fame. This is the beginning of the end, in my opinion. If the press is turning on them this badly and to have his workplace slap in the face before the Queen has passed, it doesn’t bode well for the future for them.
Ellie
There was no agreed upon amount of hours at any point. William has a custom made Zero hours contract. All other information came out via his PR Office.
Rather than saying he will work when he chooses they say part time. Think of that as rounding up to the nearest marker.
And he’s been noted as only going to work 2/3rds of that schedule WITH open ends to take off whenever he chooses for his royal duties or own purposes.
On top of that he got paid his full salary upon signing. Nothing is expected of him.
Where the issue comes in is the KP PR needs to make claims like William’s job restricts him. And CAA rightly clarified their policy.
This is like When KP PR needed to justify Kate’s lack of work so they claimed BP and the Queen were the ones saying she couldn’t work.
I’ve also found it odd that they require a nanny when KM doesn’t work much. What does she do all day? I’ve spent so much time pondering that question. I would totally understand the nanny if KM was working even part-time (20 hours per week). Right now, I think it’s so odd that she can’t even do two engagements per week. KM is an adult with no real job, she should be able to handle 2 children. It really makes me wonder if she has depression or some other sort of illness that’s affecting her. She could also just be lazy, who knows.
Marie of Denmark did an interview recently for her 40th birthday. She revealed that they do not have a nanny or a cook, but call in baby sitters when both she and her husband are working. I do not know what her annual tally of engagements is overall. I’ll use the term down-to-earth for royals that they have two little kids, two tween/teen stepsons, and only on-call help.
I don’t know Marie’s tally of engagements either but she works less than Mary. However, she has been on tours to Cambodia and other places for her work with DanChurchAid. In an interview she said she talk with her children about some of the things she sees on her travels, even though they are young. Fx she talked with her young son about some children not getting enough to eat because she wants them to undertsand that not everyone live a safe and secure existence.
Right now, she and her husband doesn’t work that much, him especially since he has sold his farming estate. He is probably the richest member of the DRF in terms of private wealth, especially since they don’t pay tax, not of income and not of real estate. He’s the only one that doesn’t live in a historical building that is owned by the state but in a million kroner villa in Copenhagen.
I liked the t-shirt she came up with for one of the DanChurch charity visits, taking language from the charity’s website. And her new involvement in the food bank is cool.
The farm thing was strange, but I don’t think Joachim wanted to be a farmer. He was given a huge estate and told to be a farmer when he grew up. He was a lousy farmer, sold it and made a tidy profit.
The whole deal about the estate of Schackenborg was strange to begin. He was basically given the estate from the owner (who didn’t have any heirs) when he was 11. He really didn’t have a say in the matter but he dutifully took an education in agriculture and tried to make a go at it, which was very expensive because he had to invest in a lot of new equipment. Furthermore, there isn’t really enough land attached to the estate to make farming really profitable. He would be lucky if the books weren’t in the red.
It wasn’t a profitable business and he had other duties as well. He was in his rights to sell. It is now being run by a board.
A friend of mine was actually at the estate last week. He’s a restoration architect, so the house is probably in need of work.
They didn’t do much before they had children. With children they must be more busy than 2011-2012, but it is a mystery what they do to fill their days.
Most people their age would be very bored not working full-time or staying home full-time with their children without extra help.
Like I said before, we will get some treacly pictures of the kids soon or some William and Kate pda really soon.
I think that William thought that he was untouchable due to his mom and his name. It’s starting to get really ugly. I bet that it is going to get worse before it gets better. W+K will be circling the drain soon if they don’t fix this. They way they fix it is to work. Hard. Consistently. With real and not feigned compassion.
Since I am from the South, I’ll bring fresh and hot Krispy Kreme donuts and some peach cobbler to the party. Or maybe some Southern barbecue and sweet tea.
KMR, methinks you’re going to be busy on this topic.
It will be interesting to see what happens now that William is firmly on a collision couse with the real world outside his bubble of privilege and entitlement.
Both William and Kate are clueless because they have never lived in the reality that the rest of us do. They have never had to support themselves and they are surrounded by people who live the same lifestyle or flunkies who know were their bread is buttered. The fact that William is mulishly stubborn and won’t listen to advice doesn’t help.
It is all very entertaining from the side-lines, though I do feel sorry for his staff. I bet it is not fun working for him at present.
And to think the press is only pointing out the very obvious… What royal watchers have been saying for a long time now.
Just imagine, if they actually have the nerve to start to spill the juicy stuff they have been sitting on?!
I have little faith that they have it in them to turn this around. They are so awkward and lacking when they actually show up.
I can’t wait for the juicy stuff!!! I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting to find out what is really going on behind those doors at Anmer.
Throw out the PR babies as a PR bandaid.
Hm… peach cobbler.
Poll: what do you think is going to be trumpeted out next? And, if that doesn’t work, what’ll be their 2nd angle?
PR babies? PR PDA (ewwwww lol)? OR tossing the York girls and/or Harry under a bus?
IMO, first angle: PR babies. 2nd attempt: tossing B & E and/or Harry under a bus.
I think PR PDA will be saved for last. I truly think their marriage has gotten to that point where they can’t even fake affection for one another.
I’ll bring popcorn again while we all get comfy for this showdown!
All bets are off is Scarole trots out either kid.
I’ve always wondered if William is genuinely in love with Kate. She seems to be quite smitten with him, but I rarely see a loving stare returned by him. Maybe he is just a non-affectionate person. I know many people aren’t as physically open with their affection, especially in public. But I’ve always wondered a little if he married her because he thought he owed it to her or because she was the last one standing. Their interactions have always reminded me a bit more of best friends than people madly in love.
I think a lot of people, myself included, have wondered if he’s in love with/loves Kate at all or only married her because he felt like he was stuck and had to marry her!
I truly wonder if he married her to “stick it” to the Monarchy…
I’ve always felt that he married Kate’s family.
In the sense that breaking up with Kate was also a break up with her family, Carole in particular. And since he loved Kate as a friend, not to mention the media calling him a cad for wasting her 20s on him ( it was pretty dicey, that’s when all the snobby aristos vs plucky middle class middletons stories started showing up in the press) AND no other candidate willing to marry him was available. People have married for less.
It becomes/became a problem as far as outsiders looking in, when their PR went into overdrive to paint it as the love story of the century.
Granted, as much as his status, privilege and wealth are a selling point, Kate *is* obsessed with him. To the detriment of her children – remember when George was presented at the hospital steps and Kate had eyes for William more than her newborn baby?
Then again, who said marriage had to be about children!!!
In conclusion, at the wedding, I thought they looked like friends rather than two people madly in love. She was giddy about finally getting him, but the journey there was harder and probably took a greater toll than Diana’s entire Royal Career. The difference is that Kate has support and is made of steel where her goals are concerned, so she’s probably not losing any sleep over it. However, it’s showing in other ways eg her rapid aging and unhappy face.
Their relationship has been spun as a sugar plum fairy tale of true love since the engagement and that still colours how people view their relationship.
In a way it isn’t fair to them.
Excellent post, Herazeus.
Steely is the exact word used by one of the press pack about Kate.
Herazeus, wonderful comment and I agree. He wasn’t necessarily marrying Kate for love because he dumped her too many times. He wanted a family like the one that was presented to him.
But I also wonder if that alleged talk between William and Carole with Carole wanting to know when he’d put a ring on it had an “or else” consequence to it.
William is like a yappy little dog. All bark and no bite and when a bigger, badder dog comes along he backs down and goes along to get along. Unless of course you’re the BRF/gray men and are backing him into a corner (in his mind). Then he gets extra snarly/surly and picks up his toys and goes to his room.
I sincerely hope the pressure continues and results in a huge shake-up for the two of them. But I’m wondering if having them work more against their will and getting manic grinning and scowling is worth it in the long run.
Throwing Harry/The Yorks under the bus is always the first go-to.
https://www.instagram.com/princegeorgepictures/
rhiannon, you suggest they work hard to get themselves out of this fix. I think this is too much for them to ask of themselves. I think baby #3 announcement is on the way. It is there only way out.
I’m afraid your right. It’s the “Pollyanna” in me and I always hope for the best.
Sorry about the stupid spelling error. I can’t believe I put ‘there’ for ‘their’! Idiot!
Not only is baby #3 a temporary PR fix, it’s a long term excuse for them to not have to work!
I think they could announce they are having triplets and the public would probably react negatively at this point. (“What three more to scrounge off of the public benefits???, etc.)
As someone said in another post reply, it’s time to put up or shut up.
I’m not so sure Baby #3 would work. People cared way less about Charlotte than they did about George, and W&K still got bad press right before and right after her birth. I don’t think a third baby would do them that many PR favors.
I think plans for baby 3, if current, will have been shelved for now. Kate taking another 3m “HG” leave, then 8m “maternity leave” (leave from what?) will do real harm.
Yum, Rhiannon! And I’ll bring the coconut cream pies. Or chocolate cream pies.
Peach cobbler? I’m in. Barbecue, too!
Yes, I concur. William has thought he was untouchable. He should only know how disappointed his mother must be of the youngster she raised. He is shameful. Too bad he cannot be fired. Oh, he’ll quit, all right. Soon? Perhaps, mid or early spring?
Wow, this is like watching a train wreck. I wonder if Will and Kate even realized the destructive path they are on?
Oh, and I love that the next ‘work’ engagement for Will is a rugby game. Gosh, he doesn’t get it. He is getting all this bad press and makes his second engagement of the year a rugby match??? How out of touch are you? I know he is a royal patron of rugby, and should attend a match here or there. But after all the bad press regarding the BAFTAS (which he is president) and not attending, you think he would learn. He is shooting himself in the foot.
I wish the Cambridge’s would put their educations to good use. Maxima promotes debt relief, and took a trip to Pakistan-she is using her education. Victoria does the same.
I do admire Prince Charles. He may be diva-like and stuffy, but his work in the Prince’s trust and for environmental matters is above reproach.
I give Prince Charles more of a pass because he was born in one world and lives in another. The monarchy will never be like it was back then and people are too educated to be fooled into funding these fools forever. This upcoming generation isn’t going to support people like them. Kate and William don’t have that excuse and were educated and raised in the modern world. I think Kate particularly has bought into the fiction that royals actually are superior to other people. I think she’s a total power freak, but doesn’t want to have to work for it. Although being with William should probably count as work. You could not pay me enough to let those beaver teeth or bald head anywhere near me. If I thought Kate was a nice person, I’d pity her. There is no excuse for their spoiled, petulant behavior and anyone with a smartphone is aware of how unpopular they are. Do they really have their heads in the sand that much?
I also think Charles comes off as more genuinely well intentioned. He seems to want actually to help people and enjoy interacting with them, as long as they are the press of course! W+K come off as manipulative and mean spirited.
I couldn’t agree more Lindsey! Charles might be an old fuddy duddy but his curiosity, warmth and desire to help are plain to see.
Charles has said more than once his job is to worry about people and to figure out how to use his position in life and his money to help them. Duty! And not because it is obligation, but because he wants to.
I know. His next event, a rugby game! Come on!
What a shame that William cannot get it together and act like the future King his parents raised. Truly, what hope they had for him. What love and devotion the people of the UK gave William and Harry.
I find it sad that William’s schedule won’t allow him to do more. I find it even worse that it is William, himself, who refuses to do more.
I think those who say he will quit his pilot gig soon are right. What will he try next? Oh, I remember, he’s a country gentleman. Won’t he farm?
William appears to be one unhappy man and it is my wish that he get some help and overcome his anger and resentment. He has much to offer the world, I would imagine. But, he is too bitter to even think about doing so. That is tragic.
Prince William shows us how the Monarchy will end….thru the indifference of the Royals themselves. The younger generation just doesn’t want to do it. The whole idea of being “royal” is likely a foreign idea to them too and “duty to country” is a millstone.
IT’s a big burden to have simply because of genes. The American President, for all his faults, definately wanted the job and had to prove that he wanted it by going through a grueling election process, only to be on the offensive and dealing with a murderous Congress and scathing press from day one. The British head of state isn’t tested like that, doesn’t have prove his worth. If William had to go thru the American election process to get his current job as Prince, he would have bowed out a long time ago.
I predict that Will and Kate, and Harry will have much smaller roles than their grandmother and father and subsequently, less money flowing from the taxpayer to them.
“how the Monarchy will end….thru the indifference of the Royals themselves”
Very possible. Or they will grab all the perks and give nothing back so much that the people revolt.
OF COURSE they will ‘grab all the perks and give nothing back’; W+K are already doing that now! And worse, really pushing it in terms of seeing how much they can get for themselves. The Queen and Prince Charles need to take full responsibility for them.
It is right that their relevance and actions be questioned often and thoroughly. The effects of unfettered privilege can be seen in William and also Kate, and it’s not pretty. The utterly disdainful ‘f**k you’ look on William’s face in the above image says it all. Both of them really believe they are something special despite no evidence to prove it.
From Day One this couple has been propped up by PR, most of it complete fabrication. Neither has done anything worthwhile in their lives and it would appear, don’t intend to. I’d kick ’em to the curb.
Grabbing perks and giving little back has been happening to larger degree than WK for ages now. WK are just more publicized.
HM is very skilled at this, but knows how to not call attention to it.
Another curiousity of mine, in case the monarchy ends, will the assets owned by the royals at the moment be returned to the state (palaces, estates, crown and tiaras, contents of royal vaults)? From what I see, palaces and properties will most definitely be returned to the British state. But will the royal family get to keep anything in that case? Will tiaras and jewelries still go to the royals?
Mia: almost 3/4 of what is on display is actually state owned. in the past, Forbes [or some such wealth index] put the royals at more than a billion GBP in wealth because they included all the state owned properties/investments/art/jewellery/land/homes/castles etc.
That figure has since been revised to between £200-£300M when you deduct all the state owned items.
in real terms, the most visible downgrade would be property. The family owns Balmoral and Sandrigham outright. All other properties are leased either from crown estates or the two duchies. Since all crown Estates and the two duchies are really state properties, the royals would be turfed out from those.
They would not have access to the royal collection of art, jewellery, objet d’arts and what not. At the moment, as long as it’s not on display somewhere in the world, they can take items from the royal collection for their personal use on lease.
The jewellery might not be as obvious to the public since they mix in personal pieces with the royal collection pieces they wear., but they would lose a significant chunk of that.
In short, anything they don’t own outright will be returned to the state.
And if Charles gets his way he will get the Dutchy as owned by the BRF which is sketchy.
Question for those of you who live in England. Is there a financial gain from tourism related to the Royalty? I have read in the past it is a huge amount of money. I would hate to see the monarchy end. Other countries still are providing for their royalty ie those that we read about on this blog.
I suppose unfortunately since Queen Elizabeth has done such an outstanding job of service for her beloved country it will be so hard for anyone to measure up. Of course Prince Phillip has done his part as a giant support system.
Kat the monarchy does genuinely bring in tourist dollars. It is a significant amount of overall tourist income.
Personally I don’t think the monarchy is going anywhere any time soon even if Will and Kate continue to fail.
However even if it did the palaces, jewels etc would all still be open to the public. Tourists would still be drawn by our heritage and history.
Thanks for your explanation Herazeus. Then we shall assume that Will, Kate, Harry, and the Yorks will lose access to most of what define royal family as wealthy. But the personal jewelries do raise further question. If they were bought by money from the State, such as the York tiara, what will happen to it? Is it state owned? Anmer hall? William’s heli?
I imagine it would be absolutely painful for the Cambridges to live the commoners’ life they always beg to have. I highly doubt that Diana’s inheritance would be enough to support their current lifestyle for long. £10M sounds a lot, but not when you imagine a pair of earrings cost £4000.
The York tiara is the property of Sarah, Duchess of York. It was determined in the divorce that it was her property so she got to keep it. Anmer Hall is on the Sandringham Estate which is privately owned by the Queen, so the RF would keep that. William’s helicopter – do you mean the one the RF leases that Kate took a few weeks ago? That one is a lease and not owned by the RF.
Kat, depends on who is running the numbers. Like France, the royal buildings would generate revenue even if there were no royals. They’d probably generate MORE revenue since they could be open year-round.
https://republic.org.uk/what-we-want/monarchy-myth-buster/its-good-tourism
Thanks so much for what would happen in the event of..interesting.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. To hear it from you all who live in England makes it more real than in the news.
Sorry to be late to this, Kat.
In my opinion, the history and the Monarchy bring tourists to Britain. Not the present incumbents! We have SO much history that’s its intrinsic in our culture. It’s not the current occupiers of our castles that matter as much as you can literally walk the same corridors that have held Kings and Queens for hundreds of years.
Thanks again. I had not thought of the tourism in those terms duh but also was hoping that having a living and residing Monarchy with pomp and circumstances as one example would assist in increasing the number of tourists and revenue. So it does make me sad in that sense. I as a history and ancestry buff would if living in England would want the monarchy to reign on as part of its historical legacy. I don’t know how it affects your taxes but surely taxes would still be in effect for the maintaining of these historical places.
I am just one of those who are in awe of the English people and their commitments for example the military anniversaries are so well done. Most of my ancestors came from England so I feel a sort of affinity if that makes any sense.
Thank you for this interesting discussion.
We’ll welcome you as an honorary Brit!
I would think taxes would be significantly less as a lot of costs – security, clothes, personal staff etc – no longer needed. The tourism should pay enough for upkeep of buildings.
That said, I am a proud Brit & a proud Monarchist – I don’t want the Monarchy to fall. I want those in the RF to be worthy of my respect & to earn their place of immense priviledge.
Charles will be a great King, I think. He’s the last Royal that seems to want to be Royal.
Thank you so much JL. I have so had this secret desire to migrate to England (and your colony Australia).
Yes I do think that Charles is and has been dedicated to becoming King of England. I get him. He has not done all the right things but his loyalty has been apparent. And even though …….he so obviously loves his present wife.
It is sad not to get the same vibes from William.
Things associated with monarchy (or former monarchies) might bring in tourism money, not the royals themselves. People go to see The Tower of London not the Queen herself. France’s tourism industry is doing just fine and there are no royals running around the formal royal buildings that bring in so much revenue (ex. The Louvre).
I know Harry isn’t a fan of the media or the cons that come with royalty but I won’t put him in the same boat as William and Kate. Harry’s actually really found a path, injured vets, and he’s quite serious with it. As well at children, be it in Africa with his charity or the events he consistently pitches up at.
I’m almost 100% certain that unlike Harry William and Kate do nothing behind the scenes or private work… they barely do official duties.
Harry doesn’t seem to be living on and enjoying royal perks while pleading normality to the extent that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge do. No 4million pound renovated palace apartments funded by tax payers vacant most of the year, or no fly over zones or countless threats of legal action to the press for photos taken on public grounds, no tailor made Cambridge courses that get skipped out on when the Mustique is calling or two day mini-vacations added to his royal tours.
I really don’t want to put harry in the same boat as will and kate. (because he would be the only paddling.)
However, I think harry should be doing more public engagements, especially, since he has been out of the army for the better part of a year already.
If Anne, who is waaaay down the line is knocking it out of the park year after year. There is no reason for Harry not to have 250-300 yearly engagements.
I hope Harry isn’t as lazy as Bill when it comes to royal duties, but he has got to get it together before the press deservingly questions his work ethic as well.
(That being said, Harry’s main purpose in life is to make Bill look good and Bill calls the shots at KP)
Kip I largely with you. I think Harry is far better than W&K but I still think he could do better. The real problem is that we don’t really know what he does, we believe he does a lot of unreported work but we don’t really know.
On a slightly different link if the UK went for some kind of presidency it would be very expensive too. Both the American and French presidencies are very expensive I believe, so the money not spent on royals would not all be saved.
I say again as a Brit that other heirs have had far worse press ( albeit in the days before 24/7 news etc ) and have recovered. I don’t think we are anywhere near getting rid of the royals.
Harry needs to navigate away from W+K and establish his own office. I don’t know if that is possible. If not, perhaps he can re-join his father’s office.
It is not acceptable that Harry (or anyone for that matter) is thrown under a bus whenever William or Kate screw up. Unfortunately Harry’s workload is a bit fuzzy, apart from what is well publicized; it would be in his interests to make sure all his work is recorded in some manner, including volunteer work. Surely, he can have a running weekly diary available showing what he is doing and where. That of course presumes he is constantly active rather than just under the radar of scrutiny.
Re. royal futures: I agree with you Birdy that the royals will be around for a while. It is hard to start and sustain a public conversation about the relevance of a royal family when so many other more important issues are in front of people. Ireland provides a close and relevant example for the Brits to follow should they choose a presidency.
I can see a half-way measure put in place though: a very small group of royals doing a small number of engagements limited to state occasions and perhaps a few personal causes. Perhaps freeing up state-owned palaces for tourism purposes, with the RF decamping to their own homes (Sandringham and Balmoral). A small allowance given for doing engagements with security provided for those but not for private excursions. Tax to be paid on Duchy incomes. In short, for royalty to be a very part-time activity for state occasions. The BRF might prefer to withdraw from their role and live privately from their own incomes, which would be fine.
Birdy – yes of course re. HoS. But HoS doesn’t have to be a royal, it can be someone of merit eg Mary Robinson, rather than an hereditary position.
I was thinking of the engagement side where things can be slimmed down considerably and the role of royalty be confined to that area.
That’s the thing: Unless the work is reported, we don’t know that it happened and can’t judge it. It’s the same thing with Kate’s “secret charity visits”. There is no evidence of them so we cannot judge them. If there is no evidence of Harry’s visits, then we cannot judge those either.
KMR
At least for me I think it’s fair to judge.
A Harry secret visit is more not publicized to avoid counting. We do see results and others are also noted as attending to achieve a goal like the Invictus Games. So, secret for him meant low key regarding public and press attention. They got stuff done.
Kate’s secret meetings have yet to show much has been achieved. AND many of her patronages have said they haven’t seen her in ages during periods where her PR said she was making secret meetings.
No, we can’t know for sure, but I feel comfortable with some common sense
Along with IF Kate is attending these secret meetings she’s not absorbing anything.
Their mother taught him that his job was to support William and Harry is loyal to his brother. Much of what Harry doesn’t isn’t on the CC so William ends up with higher numbers.
Jen the queen is Head of State which in any country is a full time fully funded job with total security needed.
As to ‘hangers on’ that could change over time and reduce in significance. I certainly think this century will see changes.
Birdy – yes of course re. HoS. But HoS doesn’t have to be a royal, it can be someone of merit eg Mary Robinson, rather than an hereditary position held for life, regardless of suitability. It’s hard to justify the latter in an age where ‘normal’ people are well educated and achieve brilliantly through their own efforts. William is in sharp contrast to that picture, and it’s not a good picture for a country to be led by a not too bright slacker as HoS.
If royalty is a desired commodity by UK citizens, but not at the present cost, perhaps it could be slimmed down considerably and the role be confined to the ceremonial.
I’m of the opinion Harry cannot do more. The powers that be won’t allow it. It is all hierarchy in the BRF: thus William gets all this stuff, Harry does not. And Harry cannot possibly outwork William. Things Harry does are not counted or publicized in the CC because it would make William look even worse. Like his visits to flood-ridden towns recently, and his other work with veterans you hear about on Twitter. They can’t make it public because it would shine a bigger spotlight on, “WTF does William do, then?” Harry has always been used to protect William and as the scapegoat.
I wouldn’t put that past the realm of possibilities.
However, I am not convinced the brothers don’t have some sort of laziness pact. If they both don’t step up, neither has too. It’s not like Harry is jumping up to attend any state dinners.
KP obviously has no qualms about fibbing to the public, saying the queen and charles tolerate this foolish behavior.
I think it was Lola, who mentioned that Harry won’t dare wear a kilt because william will not wear one. I could see william controlling his brother in a similar fashion and harry acquiescing because he has done so his entire life.
Harry is in a weird spot. Between an extremely controlling, reluctant heir and a seemingly genuine desire to use his title for good deeds.
I am thinking KP is going to regret having said anything about this. One would think they would have made certain of the pilot regulations before issuing a statement like this. Maybe the criticism about the Cambridges being lazy is starting to hit too close to home. I am thinking there is a whole pile of CYA going on. And really, if the Cambridges don’t work, what do they need royal staffers for?
To be sycophants & ‘cos they don’t know how to do things by themselves. William thinks that since he’s born a prince it’s his rights to be pampered & Kate is sharing this privilege ‘cos she’s his wife.
They really believe it, you can tell. It is astonishing to me that they aren’t mortified to be a part of such a ridiculous clown show. The only difference between them and other people is that they’ve convinced millions of people to give them their money and worship them. Based on genes. It’s right out of the dark ages and completely ridiculous. The ONLY option left to someone in a “royal” family in order to have any dignity or self worth is to devote yourself totally to the people and your country. That’s how it worked in the past and it kept going because people were getting something out of it. That’s not the case anymore and all the people are getting is more spoiled mouths to feed. A life of charity and service is the only respectable and moral way to live as a royal. Anny other way is a train wreck, as we are witnessing.
+1. Absolutely.
+2! Very well said. Can we email this paragraph directly to W&K?
I agree with you that KP is going to regret saying anything right now. This will come back to haunt them.
I agree. It’s embarrassing that their PR team couldn’t even properly research aviation regulations before they put out a statement. If someone in my office made that sort of mistake, they would certainly be severely punished, if not out of a job.
So much for Jason being a crisis management pro, right?
“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.” – Maurice Switzer
My2Pence. When reading this KP news release I had been thinking the exact same thing. Silence would have been the very right thing to do. Perhaps doing some behind the scenes work such as quietly vamping up the work ethic.
This quote anyway bears reflect on even my own life for example. Sometimes it is better to quietly be silent then make a fool out of myself for what I say. Thank you.
There is some saying I think from HM – something like ‘never complain, never explain’. Someone might know if I’m right that it was the queen, but KP should think about that.
Queen Mother I think?
Yes JL queen Mum!
I’m starting to wonder if we are in an episode of the “Twilight Zone”?
I know, right. The press actually calling William out and KP responding. Craziness.
I am with you KMR, this is getting juicy and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
I have the TV on while I am writing this, and a reality show has been on showing the town I have lived in for most of my married life. It did make me see how producers and/or camera crew can take at least a half day to film areas of little visual interest. You really can make people or a place look better or worse based on many factors. It is making me wonder if the media will begin to cover Will and Kate in increasingly negative light with people deciding they will not keep quiet and cover for the couple, show photos which are less flattering and that type of thing. At least in this recent statement from the CAA, they are not going to cover for Will.
It all depends on the editing on TV shows. They can really edit a good person to sound evil and an evil person to sound good. It will be interesting to see how the press cover William and Kate’s engagements going forward. Kate has an event on Wednesday and William one on Friday, so we don’t have long to wait.
Ir may prove to be an interesting week.
We are actually witnessing the end of the Monarchy in UK. King Charles III will be the last sovereign. After nearly 50 years of being the prince of wales who works tirelessly for his projects & charities, he deserves to be king. Wealth & privilege are nothing if there are no love & respect. William & Kate have been living in the bubble & under estimating the power of the press & the media. Serve the right! Another Louis VI & Marie Antoinette? Off to the guillotines!
I would really love to see King Henry IX though. That St. Edward’s crown would look amazing on his ginger hair.
Me, too.
Harry deserves to do his part and serve the people. The prince gets it the same way his parents understood the importance of, “We serve.” Also, his step-mother has put in time to find very important causes to highlight over the years.
Could there really be a change to Harry? I know many of us see good qualities in Harry and wish this could be the case, but does Prince Charles have the ability to make this change from Will to Harry?
Only Parliament can make the change. i suppose if we petitioned our MPs to make the change or someone started a petition on the No 10 website and received the requisite 100K signatures to ignite a debate about it in parliament, it might trigger something.
Thanks! I took a comparative politics course at university (U.S. and U.K.), but remember very little.
What are we waiting for? Let’s do it!
Even if Harry might not want it, I’m pretty sure his growing popularity would scare the living daylight out of William and KP.
If anything, they need to wake up and start recording Harry’s contributions to the BRF, UK and his causes fairly and accurately instead of intentionally stifling and using him to prop up W&K.
I was pretty annoyed with Palmer’s attempt to deflect the bad press William has been getting by dragging Harry through the mud in his article. As far as I can remember William has been billed as because he’s the future King while Harry has always been portrayed as the pesky spare so now, why all of a sudden must the spare live up to the expectations of the heir?
I’m in no way making excuses for Harry. In the real world, his work isn’t actually work and in spite of his volunteer work I doubt he is working flat out too. Although I’m glad he has identifiable causes and engages with people.
Can he do more? Yes, absolutely but all his work should count properly.
#justiceforHarry
PS. Remember when C’s christening was counted as an official engagement for W&K, was it counted as such for HM,PP, PC or DoC too? After all, we have photographic evidence that they attended too.
That would be interesting. KMR should start this. I bet people who are sick with looking at Le Dauphin and his Madame Déficit are not few at all, especially in this period where everyone struggles to keep roof on top of their head while the Cambridges spend with ignorance. I bet the republicans would be more than happy to join in at the smallest chance to get rid of useless spendings on royals.
Harry has so much to offer and professionally very capable. He deserves a chance.
I totally agree. I was on the fence at first and had William and Kate become hardworking, caring full time royals, they could have saved it for maybe one more generation. This past year, I’ve been more and more convinced that Prince Charles will be crowned and the show will be over. I predict a short reign (comparatively) and then some sort of revolt and abolishment of the monarchy.
Why does he have to be King? Perhaps just leave him at Prince of Wales status where he thrives and end the monarchy there.
He can’t be Prince of Wales. *Prince of Wales comes with it’s own stresses AND a duchy to manage. If he can’t handle lowly *Duke of Cambridge title, where he is given all the freedom in the world, how can he hope to cope with POW.
*There is no official role to go with Duke of Cambridge except as the heir presumptive to POW, he is expected to support POW, just as POW is expected to support HM.
Since he can’t cope with supporting POW, how will he cope with supporting HM. Especially now that Prince Charles has turned the POW title into a powerhouse role?!
Do you mean Charles or William? I read it as leaving Charles as POW, since he is thriving and his little boy isn’t POW yet.
Poor Jason will be needing botox, hair transplant and a lot of alcohol after the series of wreckage. I hope he is paid generously…
This will be one case in his CV with no successful results… I won’t be surprised if he resigns soon.
But seriously, I agree with everyone here that this development is very interesting. We knew there was going to be some reaction from KP, but honestly, throwing CAA under the bus is so lame! Who would buy ‘the mandatory rest time’ that one is obliged to supposedly ‘rest’ i.e. stay home and watch the telly like a sick person?
Everyone knows that as far as pilots are concerned, rest means basically time away from flying. What one does with this time, is really up to him. And anyone who works shifts can confirm this. Thank you Miss K for your clarification down thread. He does get huge amount of time off. William must have some nerves to use such a weak argument to feed the public. Lets see if there’s going to be any ‘better excuse’ or if they drop it altogether as uninteresting subject. William more and more seems irrelevant to the public interest.
Good on them for calling KP out. I work a 4 on, 4 off shift. It’s only 16 shifts a month or 192 hours! Yeah, we also have rules about having a minimum number of hours in between shifts and maximum number of hours per shift. And yes, it works out to be a 48 hour work week if I don’t take overtime. But even then, I have a TON of time off. My friends and family are always surprised at how much time off I have. 2/3 of that is 11 days or 127 hours a month. Seriously?! That is not a lot of work. He needs to get his head checked.
Thanks for your perspective on the shift work, Miss K. As you’ve described, there is no excuses for William not being able to fit in royal duties.
This is so enlightening.
So we can conclude, as KP is insisting via this morning’s rebuttal, that William negotiated 80hrs a month, over less than your 197hrs a month, but his co-workers are complaining that he is doing less than those negotiated hours.
To top it off, he is only on his 3rd Royal duty in 7wks, plus that month off for Christmas – did anyone notice how they initially lied and said he had 3wks off?
Begs the question, what does he do all day, everyday?
Cry and poop his diaper like every other tantrum-y baby?
And eat cheese on toast made by Ma Middleton in one of his many kitchens, while he sits on his bum watching TV. The kids are with Maria and Kate is down the other end of the house on her rowing machine.
Play Angry Birds to save endangered mammals?(^O^)
And how often does he use the helicopter to do it?
Thank You for this perspective and for basically saying what we all are thinking: William can have his time off and be private if he wants to, provided that he actually works at the job that he was born into and/or the pilot job that he has stolen from someone more deserving.
Hand on heart, I am not trying to minimize the important work you do, but could you elaborate about the time you spend at work? I realize the work you do may be different from the work done by Will, but do you get much time to sleep, have a back up team ect.?
It’s actually not all that different. Main difference is instead of working on a helicopter; I work on a truck. You never know when someone’s gonna call 911. Some days are slower than others. Some days are totally quiet. Some days you get slammed. We’re not allowed to sleep. But we do get to “rest” on couches in between calls. So in between shifts and the first day off after a shift, I may sleep all day. I actually just did that yesterday because the night before we were slammed. Felt like as soon as 1 call ended, I immediately went to the next. But I still have today and another 2 days off before I go back on shift. Plenty of time for rest and doibg whatever I wanted to. Back up wise, it depends on the type of call. But if you’re calling back up, it doesn’t mean you get a break. It means you need the extra sets of hands to help. It’s not a good sign to call for back up. Something bad is happening. So given all that, there’s still no excuse for him to be doing so little.
I know someone who is a paramedic. They’ll be on 48 hours round the clock on site (saving lives, sleeping, working out, cooking, maintaining equipment, training) and that is their 48 hour work week.
Oh man, I am so over this man child. That ” f you and the horse you rode in on” look in his eyes (top pic), seems to be his default attitude. Everyone from reporters to Ben Ainslie to peons gets this special stare. The only people who he turns that frown upside down for is his grandparents and maybe rugby players? I don’t know, maybe Kate shops as an excuse to get away from him when she just can’t be his docile adoring poppet for one. more. second.
Hmmmm interesting point you make: that Kate uses her favourite past time, shopping, as a way to get away from Wills. If the public and his colleagues find him tedious and inadequate in every way, I am sure his wife probably thinks that x100. Especially now that WK are no longer in the newlyweds glow and Kate has seen for herself that maybe chasing the ring for 10 years may not have been worth it.
Looking at photos of W&K in their first year of marriage and they seem so different in 2016. In the beginning, I think Kate may have found the whole “I’m a new royal” thing a little fun. One year on, Kate goes to Will and says he was absolutely right, being a royal is a royal boring pain in the bum. They have the big KP apartment and the country home and decide to use parenthood and anything else as an excuse to stop doing all the royal stuff.
Have only just seen these comments (CAA) in the British press. I can’t wait to see what happens next – I am very surprised that KP felt the need to explain in the first place. I reckon this is not going to die quietly.
We are watching history unfold.
Yep. It’s glorious.
And I’m loving it!
Oh my goodness! He might close them down after becoming King!! If he makes it!! Lol But anyways, How embarrassing for the world to see and know!! Even they had enough!! Wasnt he fired from RAF?? History has been made!! Ouch!!
I thought William quit the RAF before he was fired due to low flying hours.
Same difference.
And left behind a £400K debt due to quitting/retiring early.
I was wondering if that was the real reason he left the RAF considering he had 3 years left on his contract and the privatization of SAR.
William should be held responsible for that debt. I think he is somewhat delusional about flying, as Kate is delusional about her photography skills. What a pair of numpties.
I didn’t know he left behind a debt!! How is he not responsible for it? I also didn’t know he was going to be fired. The media just portrayed him as wanting to focus on his royal duties, so he quiet.
So let me get this straight february has 29 days!! So Wills works only 9 days and 20 off days????
Royal duties are so hard.
Working a civilian job is so hard.
Why are you being so hard on the poor fellow.
He has 2 kids.
He has a wife.
His parents divorced.
His mummy died.
Life is just too hard.
No, they’re not.
Yes, but you’re not doing much of it.
Because you are useless and entitled.
Poor kids.
She’s useless too.
Lots of people get divorced.
Everyone’s parents die.
Not for you, buster.
He is a Prince
His wife is a Duchess
His Granny is Queen.
*snicker* *snot*
He’s a lazy prince
She’s a lazy duchess
His granny needs to takes some of their goodies away
*snicker* *snot*
I think he may actually be working less than that since he isn’t working as much as stated 🙁
I’m firing up my Schadenfreude as we speak. I hope this is not just a flash in the pan.
Will ‘works’ like Waity did at Jigsaw. They really were meant for each other. I had no idea he was such a lazy bugger. He fits that stereotype of a welfare bum but with better PR and a queen for a granny.
Like you KMR I I can’t wait to see what happens next. I bet we will see new pictures of George and Charlotte to “put out the fire”. It usually works. I am “glad” that “The Duke is incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to carry out his skilled work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance”. At least apparently he is grateful for something. I only hope he is happy about it too, because we all see how “happy” William is doing his royal duties.
I have a dear friend whose late mother had a great saying: The fish always stinks from the head!
OFF TOPIC, But very much on the theme of the dilitante nature of the Cambridges. Beatrice hosted a lunch for Forget Me Not Hospice at Buckingham Palace yesterday, no coverage in the press. Beatrice is Patron of this hospice. When i saw this on twitter, my first thought was how children’s hospices used to be the big cause Kate espoused last year or was it the year before.
What a shame there was no press coverage for the hospice, an incredibly worthy cause. Regardless of coverage, they are better off with Bea as patron rather than Kate.
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll do my best to find some info on it and include it in a royal round up later this week.
I’m always still surprised they allow him to fly with his subpar eyesight.
Wow!!! What a stunning, asinine and audacious statement for KP to have come out with! Trying to explain his laziness away with supposed airline regulations that mandate him to go home and sit in the lotus position after being in the air a certain number of hours?
This is his “LET THEM EAT CAKE” moment, folks.
And for once, when it comes to these two, my rictus grin could equal Kate’s.
HAHAHHAHAH! Rictus Grin. Maybe I can show my happiness and copy Kate, complete with my own hunchback, twirling my brown hair and flashing my lady bits
Macleans (Canada) has picked up on it too.
Prince William was called ‘work-shy.’ Then things got really nasty.
http://www.macleans.ca/society/prince-william-was-under-fire-for-being-work-shy-then-things-got-really-nasty/
That article is really interesting – mainly because it actually deems the CAA’s response to the KP’s PR excuses for William’s work-shy ways as a turning point in what was a media tempest, turining it into a real royal scandal. Wow!
Pence, did you read the 4 comments? We will see if PW’s work-shy schedule will be on the news later on. When the Duchess flashed her bum in Calgary, it was not on any of the news. My sister brought a newspaper considered “trashy” here with a picture of her bum and that’s how I was acquainted with the incident. There was no shortage of people lashing out at the newspaper.
I have seen on the news, nothing but good deeds done by the Cambridges from her commitment to mental health, his rescuing a stranded Canadian etc…
Hi Kmr, there was a report on Kensington place staff threaten to go on strike on the Today show this morning, you can watch it online. I wonder why no body else especially the british media has reported it.
Hi Sue,
I read about that. It’s the staff for the Historic Royal Palaces that threatened to go on strike if their wages were cut. The headlines were making it out like it was William and Kate’s staff, but that’s not true. The HRP staff is completely different.
I think it is the History Royal Palaces staff, the ones who maintain things and have exhibits. It isn’t the private staff working for any royals who live at KP.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/22/staff-working-for-the-royal-family-could-go-on-strike-over-working-hours-5710412/
I was reading on CeleBitchy though (they have been on a roll with this) that that one of the reasons why the Historic Royal Palace’s staff hours (and consequently take-home pay) are being cut is due to reduced exhibitions. Exhibitions such as the recent one on QEII, Margaret and Diana’s famous outfits bring in visitors and revenue, which then justifies an increased number of staff hours and the salaries.
One of the reasons cited by a poster there for the hours being cut was a lack of space at Kensington Palace, thus reducing the number and length of special ticketed events like exhibitions.
And guess why there might be reduced space, within a palace?
Because WK took over apartments to give themselves a taxpayer-funded refurbished mansion within a palace, booting out a charity and also reducing the number of public spaces that can hold Exhibitions! And now they do not even use Kensington Palace as their official residence, instead using it as a giant closet to store ‘thrifty Kate’s’ 100 blue coat-dresses!
So yes, Normal Bill and Waity-Katie are partially responsible for History Royal Palaces staff losing their work hours and salaries.
William and Kate’s apartment 1A was not being used for exhibits prior to William and Kate taking it over. So them moving in should have had no affect on the number of exhibits.
Actually it was. HRP is the charity that WK kicked out of Margaret’s apartment.
HRP took it over after it had been mothballed by HM for so many years, refurbished it, we’re paying the rent on it for the purpose of using it as an exhibition space. They managed one exhibition there before they were booted out by WK. If you google royal wedding dresses, you can see some of the dresses in the exhibition (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s silver wedding dress is amazing to behold in that exhibition). They used the main corridor, dining room and sitting room of the apartment for the exhibition. HRP appear to have kept Margaret’s colour scheme – the blue of Margaret’s sitting room and dining rooms are memorable.
When WK toured KP’s empty apartments, Margaret’s apartment wasn’t on the list for the specific reason that HRP had it. They were shown Diana’s apartment which apparently Kate vetoed on the grounds that she didn’t want to live there (who can blame her) and WK then asked to see Margaret’s apartment even though it wasn’t on the list.
They liked it and asked for it. The Queen had to negotiate with HRP, re-pay the cost of the lease, and pay them their costs of refurbishing the apartment before handing it to WK – same routine happened at Amner as far as HM having to boot out sitting tenants.
That’s part of the scandal of how much it cost to refurbish that place because HRP refurbished it, then HM had to effectively buy it back from them before handing it to WK + another £4.5M to refurbish again, this time to suit WK. The money paid to HRP would have been put in a different accounting year under an item heading that disguised what it truly paid for eg Building Fund.
Ps: if you want to have a look at KP, and especially the history and decoration of Margaret’s apartment upto the moment WK take it over, I’d recommend an interior design website called Cote de Texas. The lady has a section on palaces, and has a very thorough archive on KP and Margaret’s apartment including what HRP did to it during their tenure.
Where did they relocate the charity offices that were based in the apartment before W&K “moved in”? If they’re now stationed elsewhere in KP, I can see why that may result in a lack of public space.
*Thanks Herazeus! I asked and you answered at the exact same time. Great minds think alike I guess 🙂
Wow, thanks so much for the info Hearazeus!!!
I just spent some time looking at photos of 1A and the old apartment used by Diana. Herazeus provided a link.
It is amazing seeing the photo of the smiling little boy (on a brightly painted rocking horse), playing in the nursery with little Harry and thinking about how he has grown into a man in his thirties. It isn’t what I expected from a young prince raised by dedicated parents.
I really think it was the loss of his mother that William has never recovered from. I have great sympathy for any child who loses a parent — especially when the child(ren) are so young. But, one needs to go on and not let bitterness and anger rule one’s life.
I so wish that William was not such an angry young man. Harry seems to have coped better and yet, one can tell how much he must have loved Diana.
It is sad to think of the toddlers, William and Harry, who were so full of bright promise. Harry is working toward wonderful goals and doing so much to make the world a better place in so many arenas. If William were indeed serious about his pilot job (and, perhaps he is), I would say good for him, too. Doing admirable work while waiting for his turn at the crown is lovely.
But, he should be doing other things of merit, too.
It makes me sad. Very sad. I am feeling guilty about some of my snarky remarks I hate to be mean and I think that sometimes I am when I post about William.
I think that if the duke and duchess of dumbville were to have another baby things would get worse. No one would ever blame a child so that’s not what I am saying here at all. Just as no one would **blame** a child, my thinking is that no one is going to be ***impressed*** with another child. The comments are not nice on some articles and the people are tending to lean towards, ‘another mouth to feed, another scrounger’. I don’t think pictures of George and Charlotte would be a good idea right now, unless I am totally misreading the mood and temper of the people. Lots of people have children and all George and Charlotte prove is that the “parts” work. Showing pictures of them could very well invite yet more comments about nannies, staff, and stop trying to sell the ‘hands on mummy and daddy crapola’. That’s just my thought. Someone said that they feel bad for the staff. So do I. I’ve been watching videos of the job situation in the UK and they seem to indicate that jobs are scarce, and I’m not sure what aside from money the staff gets. Food. Shelter. I once again Thank God that Britain’s real power is in other people’s hands, they’re our allies, our friends and God knows we need them with what’s happening here in the US. Scary times people. I don’t think for a minute that William is going to step up the pace, and if he does it won’t be without body language indicating that he’d rather be somewhere else. Kate? I can’t see her changing, mummy’s still ‘placating’ her and the ‘sugars’ are smitten, and she has **the** ring, the title, the wealth so I hold out very little hope.
KMR, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention and for the work you put in to running this blog!
I’m absolutely livid! KP’s excuse is incredibly irresponsible and could have caused damage to the CAA and everyone who relies on the services of commercial, rescue and private pilots everywhere (CAA rules are governed and set by the global CAA under the auspices of the UN).
If “normal” people, the kind he says he wants to be, applied William’s logic, chaos would unfold! Can you imagine if all pilots actually working more than one job petitioned the CAA for hours like William’s and full pay so they could have more than the recommended amount of rest? Or if they asked their other employers to accommodate their pilot duties? Airlines would likely run out of money, global air traffic schedules would be affected, passengers would be inconvenienced and other businesses would also suffer financial losses. This may sound a bit far fetched but it could actually happen. To me it just demonstrates how self-serving and out of touch with the world William is!
I’m so glad the CAA called them out on this and not in some meek, politically correct way but actually mentioned him specifically and said that he is free to do royal duties during his down time!
It’s also funny that the statement came from Brussels since the UK CAA is governed by the EU CAA, the same EU that William apparently campaigned for in his foreign office speech that started all this in the first place.
I can’t wait to see what’s next! I’m hoping he is called out for not only having a job created just him, an expensive helicopter paid for (donated or not, someone somewhere paid for it) so he could the job and then blatantly disrespecting such good fortune. In these tough economic times, where “normal” people are struggling to make ends meet, this is absurd! He potentially robbed someone of a job and their family a meal, he doesn’t get this and his PR’s excuses are nothing short of pathetic! The Cambridgeshire are in grave need of a reality check!!!
Thanks Em!
I agree that KP’s BS excuse was such the wrong way to go. William really needs better PR management.
Most people understand what it takes to clean up a mess like this. I have no doubt Jason knows the correct way. I have a feeling William dictates too much. He fancies himself the expert and Jason can only make the moves preapproved.
KMR, I think it’s more William needs to listen to people who know how to do their job. He seems to be more of the “I pay your salary, you will do what I say” type. Even if he doesn’t in reality.
It’s been a bad week for William, as someone mentioned above, on the Today show in the US they mentioned this controversy and then discussed Kensington staff talking about a strike. They mentioned the expensive upgrades to the palace. As far as I know, William has no control over staff salaries or contracts, so I found it interesting how the Today show lumped it all together. The US media has always had a positive approach towards William, so this is bad news for him.
Unfortunately I have seen incorrect news reporting in so many instances from inferences to blatant lies. Why can’t we have true and accurate reporting. This type of reporting is what incites the majority of people who react before thinking and doing their own research.
What kills me is that no one goes after Kate as much as they should. That woman has hardly done anything since marrying William. She should be making 1-2 engagements, at least, per week, but she does nothing. She has three for tomorrow and then that’s it for a while. Sorry excuse. I feel for the people of the UK. I don’t think I could keep silent if I had to pay for these two.
Oh Kate gets the majority of the criticism that is lobbed at these two on a regular basis. I don’t believe anyone has been interested enough to create a “williamcambridgereview.com.”
In this case, Bill the royal bee muncher deserves every negative comment.
I agree that Kate’s under fire as well but if little Billy gets flak it falls on her as well, no? Seems that her prey/catch/trophy is not so appealing as she may think. **snicker** Billy for sure deserves every slap in the chops he gets and I suspect that if he gets all bent out of shape when someone dares to speak of his failings, then he isn’t easy to live with, as if he ever was from the looks of things. History in the making as said up thread and we’re watching it unfold. Thanks KMR and all other bloggers who do the work.
These days we are all accountable. It’s just the W+K didn’t get that memo! It might be galling to William that his story is challenged, but this is ‘normal’ for most everyone else.
I just love the fact you call him Billy. I know some people call them Willnot and Cannot. But I like Billy much better. Duchess Dolittle still suits her though.
Totally agree!
For the last several years Kate has gotten the majority of the criticism and heat. I would say that finally William is getting the criticism and heat he deserves. William is the blood royal, William is going to be King and Head of State one day, William should be the one leading the charge and doing the most and he’s not. Finally the press are calling him out for it.
A reception for injured rugby players? Is he for real? Who thinks this stuff up?
I thought the same thing! It is not like wounded warriors who got injured in the line of duty protecting their country. Rugby players to me are like injured football players in the US. It was their choice to play and I am sure they got paid very well. Yes, it stinks they got injured from the sport, but seriously??? It is not like they got injured on a job that is necessary to the survival of the country. It is entertainment. Gosh, I am waiting for a reception for injured actors now!
Maybe he is going to get this year’s calendar?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2827082/Bad-nudes-William-s-caught-saucy-calendar-girls-moment-Kate-s-turned.html
What a tacky and obnoxious git.
Rolling my eyes! How about injured vets or soldiers? Or maimed children from landmines? This is a joke.
I don’t know if someone farther up the thread posted this link but the rebuttal to #poorjason’s assertion that the press is being really unfair to William has hit the Telegraph and Celebitchy.
Bottom line: Billy Bob Middleton isn’t prevented from working more than eighty hours a month and isn’t prevented from doing royal work on his days off. Also, his eighty hours a month includes time WAITING for a call at HQ.
Maybe, that is *meow* why the call went out a month ago for a toaster oven. William was feeling a bit peckish for his favorite cheese on toast while waiting for a call *hiss, hiss*.
( cat miming over)
#poorjason #earninghiskeep
Enjoy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-william/12169134/Prince-William-unable-to-carry-out-more-royal-duties-because-of-aviation-industry-red-tape.html
The Telegraph article you posted is the one I’ve quoted in this article.
The Sun goes on : http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6951845/As-Prince-shirks-royal-engagements-and-pilot-job-we-ask-Wheres-Willy.html
We know that he is lazy, but he works less than I tkink : “We didn’t see him for the whole of December”….
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/prince-williams-new-boss-man-7427120?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
And the new chef of EAAA is the man who organised his and Kate Middleton’s Wedding : no more information from the staff, just for the superiors? I hope that the staff who spoke with the Sun will have not threat for their job… All is possible.
I think Clem we come back to a question asked by another poster recently. WHAT on earth does he do all day? He doesn’t have chores, he doesn’t cut his lawn, he has nannies to care for the kids, we have never seen him out and about casually with George at the park or the petting zoo or even going to a Disney film or pantomime. He doesn’t even go shopping with his poor, hard worked, lonely wife. So does he just watch box sets and play video games?
I told you it wasn’t a story until the Telegraph waded in. Now it IS a big deal. KP was so daft with that statement. I think Jason will be getting his P45 soon. Next year a tell-all £Million book deal as well. Hahaha.
#Republic 2016