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Original poster

so Kate Middleton will not be taking on any duties of note for the foreseeable

38 replies

IWouldNotCouldNotWithAGoat · 03/05/2011 01:51

fair enough or a bit lazy?

OP posts:
carocaro · 03/05/2011 08:41

Fair enough, her role is unique and like any job you can't be Chief Exec of a major corporation from day 1. I doubt she will just be sat there watching This Morning and ironing Will's flight suit, she has a lot to learn and take on board which I am sure she will be doing. She does not look like the sort of girl who would laze about all day long!

bronze · 03/05/2011 08:44

I'm with Caro
Also duties of note... I bet she does some stuff in the public eye. We're never allowed to judge people on the sah/woh debate on mn so why K M W

wintera · 03/05/2011 21:00

I'm with Carocaro and Bronze - Personally I think it's a situation that nobody else can imagine. I do get annoyed when people say things about the Royal family like "they've never done a day's work" blah blah blah. Does anyone really know what they actually do? Cos I haven't got a bloody clue what being in the Royal family entails to be honest and I would suspect that there is a lot more work going on than we know about. Like the others have said, I don't think she is the kind of girl to sit at home and watch Loose Women every day, and I think it's probably a good thing for them to have a couple of years as just a married couple instead of jumping into public appearances etc. I also think the Royal family have learned a great deal from what happened with Diana and they do not want a repeat of what happened there, so I think it will be a gradual thing with Kate, which can only be a good thing.

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Ladymaryjane · 03/05/2011 22:36

What wintera said. Diana always said she had no guidance and was told just to get on with it. Kate has already done a few minor engagements with William so maybe they will let her do what she feels ready for.

mousehole · 03/05/2011 22:38

This reply has been withdrawn

withdrawn at poster's request

StatelyPoshBeartrothal · 03/05/2011 22:40

it's OK she is living every woman's dream. If you disagree it's just jealousy as you didn;t snag a rich'un

EightiesChick · 03/05/2011 22:49

I've been pro Kate and the RW on here but it's a bit tricky. I think a big effort is being made to avoid mistakes made with Diana but that may be resulting in overcorrection. Two posters have now said she doesn't seem like the sort of woman to sit around all day, but tbh we know very little about her interests and habits other than William, and she has only had one job full stop. Presumably she has already been a housewife for the time they've been in Anglesley. It's her choice, I guess, but would be easier to understand if they had kids, or if she seemed to have something of her own to do. The report mentioned her 'pursuing other interests' but what those might be, who knows?

StatelyPoshBeartrothal · 03/05/2011 22:52

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sleepingsowell · 03/05/2011 22:53

It's very sensible and shows that they royal family/Will and Kate have actually been properly communicating, which has got to be a great thing - they have learned lessons from the diana situation and are putting those into place.
Also, William is not prince of wales, so it's not quite the same as it was with Charles and Diana, who were the next king and queen (so far as we knew!) That is a fair way off for William and Kate so absolutely no reason why they should rush out and get photographed.
Also they're drawing a line under the media hype of the wedding so as not to feed the media frenzy which as Diana clearly showed, grows like a monster if fed.
Also unlike Charles, William has an identifiable full time job for which he has to show up! (not that Charles didn't work hard, he's clearly always been busy with causes but on an almost 'self employed' basis)
The Queen lived two years in malta as a navy wife and I'm sure it was great to build the foundations of marriage that way.
All very sensible if you ask me. They're ensuring that Kate is not made into a 'celeb' just because she's married into the family. Good for them and as I say shows they have learned the lessons of the past.

EightiesChick · 03/05/2011 22:56

I don't think she should do royal engagements in a big way either, but I think it would be good if she was doing something. Maybe voluntary work locally.

VivaLeBeaver · 03/05/2011 22:56

They're a newly married couple. William has to stay in Anglessey which is the arse end of nowhere as far as travelling to public functions is concerned. I don't think it would be a good start to married life if she had to base herslef in London to be able to travel to engagements while he's in Wales. I'm sure she'll be pregnant soon anyway.

valiumbandwitch · 03/05/2011 22:57

fairenough I think!

at the moment camilla is higher up the food chain and nobody's condemning her for not being out doing more public work. So it's illogical to berate kate for not doing public duties when camilla is allowed to stay home because camilla is older and wears awful clothes. That's not logical.

Ladymaryjane · 03/05/2011 22:58

StatelyPoshBeartrothal - FACEBOOK nah MUMSNET surely Grin

StatelyPoshBeartrothal · 03/05/2011 22:59

she wouldn;t dare - people would talk

EightiesChick · 03/05/2011 23:24

Camilla supposedly does a fair number now. From the article linked in the OP:

Last year the Queen conducted 444 engagements while Prince Charles carried out 585 and Camilla 243. Prince William undertook 73.

Fair enough re William as he does have his own full time job.

I am actually wondering now whether their hope is for her to get pregnant v quickly. The reports I read over the weekend were that they wanted to leave it at least a year, but thinking about it, that's exactly what you would say to put the press off as best you could. Though she will get the 'baby bump???' treatment every time she steps out with as much as a wrinkle in the stomach area.

meditrina · 03/05/2011 23:30

EightiesChick: I think she will take on charitable work (and has probably already been inundated with offers already). It makes sense to me that they take a bit of time to work out where she can best make an (uncontroversial) difference and can see a long term role. It might make sense to do more jointly with the Duke before taking on solo engagements. And they've got the big Canada trip coming up too - perhaps she should get that under her belt first.

sleepingsowell · 04/05/2011 12:33

There is such a push now for achievement outside the home. That is great, and wonderful, and I certainly have a career and have got alot from that.

But in this specific situation, it is clear that in a few short years Kate will have a big portfolio of work to do with numerous charities and doubtless will also have kids as well.

Why is is then a bad thing if 'all' she wants to acheive right now is to enjoy doing her own thing whatever that might be, enjoy running her home.
I was thinking about what I would do if I had time at home for two years and it would be LOTS - there are LOADS of things she can do at home, they're just not valued by society.

SarkyLady · 04/05/2011 12:35

"her primary role will be as an officer's wife"

< vomit emoticon >

belgo · 04/05/2011 12:37

Fair enough. I agree, they don't want to push her into the same position as Diana, especially as the media have become, if anything even worse then 30 years ago.

SoupDragon · 04/05/2011 12:39

"her approach has the support of her husband who is keen not to throw Kate into the "bear pit" of public life and has cautioned aides to keep her commitments to a minimum"

The article also states that she will be choosing charities to support when she has "explored fields that interest her" and that "the couple will do things as a pair after their marriage"

They have the support of the queen.

The Daily Mail has just put a nasty, spiteful slant on it.

suzikettles · 04/05/2011 12:46

She probably has loads of interests that can fill her time. Maybe she's studying. Maybe she plays music. Maybe she's an artist.

We don't know because it's None Of Our Business.

sleepingsowell · 04/05/2011 12:50

exactly suzi. I think they are trying to hammer home the point to the media and the public that she is NOT diana, does not want to be a global superstar and doesn't want us to know every detail of her life (and personally, I don't want to know anyway!)

EightiesChick · 04/05/2011 12:52

I totally take the point about not throwing her into a bear pit of public engagements. But how long has she been living with William in Anglesey now? A few years? Hasn't she been doing her own thing all that time? They have both known marriage was on the cards for those few years - was that not time to 'explore fields that interest her'?

I don't know what extent William and Kate are financially and practically supported day-to-day by the state. I think it is fair for the state to provide and pay for their security and protection services, because those are required through circumstances that they didn't choose. But their house, belongings etc should come from their own earnings - i.e., at this point, whatever William earns in his RAF job. I think what is irking many people about this is the idea that we, as a nation, are somehow paying to keep Kate in comfort while she does little or nothing to earn it. An ordinary housewife can choose that route, sure, but has to be able to manage on her partner's earnings. As it is, there is something of a double standard in that if she was an ordinary 29-year-old childless woman, living on benefits but capable of working, public opinion would be that she ought to do something useful and/or that earned her keep.

I'm genuinely quite surprised at myself to be saying this, as I have been pro-royal in the run up to the RW on here, and I enjoyed watching the wedding. But I do think that while not taking on public engagements is fair enough, the statement about not taking up any other activity has been badly judged. It sits oddly with the notion of W&K as a 'modern' royal couple too.

ninah · 04/05/2011 12:53

shagging William is her duty atm personally I think she's under-renumerated

valiumbandwitch · 04/05/2011 12:53

yeah 30 years ago we just had papers, now we have news websites, gossip websites, and fora where people trash and dissect people in the public eye. I do it myself sometimes! but I do think that the royals and I include beatrice and fergie and others can not win. I think they must be so inured at this stage to being told how 'ugly' and lazy and useless they are - and yet if they get jobs they bring 'shame' on the firm.

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