To think Prince William and his wife are lacking appreciation of their position

[fideline]

and good fortune?

He just seems a bit of an over-privileged posh boy?

I know everyone says he has lovely manners, but we can expect a bit more than that, surely?

They have just hired a 'forrin' nanny a) after making an enormous PR fuss about not having one b) at a time of high UK unemployment.

The list of god-parents for their baby was a bit multi-barrelled and No foreign royals, as is traditional, but Not the slightest whiff of any demographic diversity either.

There seem to be a LOT of luxury holidays going on with these two.

The uni course he is doing has been especially designed for him and seems designed to prepare him for inheriting the enormous (private) Duchy of Cornwall. Not exactly public-spirited?

In the much-hyped first post-baby interview, he was keen to promote a charity saving Kenyan Rhinos. Nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but the line between animals he shoots for fun and animals he wants to save is unclear and anyhow a charity for under-privileged (UK?) children would have been the nice, publicity-shrewd thing to do, maybe?

For a couple with a great deal of expensive PR expertise at their disposal they seem to be slightly missing the mark a bit too often.

I'm not a particular fan of the royals either fideline and certainly don't bother with royal shindigs, so i've got a rough idea what you mean.

But what I don't get mainly is the hatred and the way that the mills and booners portray Dianas involvement.

I like the idea of the royal family and the history of the monarchy but I am not particulary over keen on them if that makes sense.

They cost me 67p a year and sell shedloads of postcards to tourists.

They are a gift that just keeps on giving.

I like 'em.

Ah yes, Caruthers, give me historical Royals any day.

Royals in the past were so much less...anachronistic

RedRuby I am suspicious of this omni-present 67p figure.

So long as it's the Tower with baldrick & Blackadder & not a sentence of the bland .

Rowan Atkinson seems to be the only one left to fly the flag our Great British spirit - perhaps we could swap him for William? Furriners loved him at the Olympic ceremony so I'm sure he'd be good for tourism.

I like the way you think

Internet petition perhaps?

I did wonder if they named the baby Prince George because they were Blackadder fans but the DCs told me not to be so silly.

I made up the figure of 67p so I am suspicious as well. It might be 69p or 71p.

Either way I can't get het up over the price of a Snickers bar.

I gave a whole quid to a charity today. He rattled the box and I handed it over. Didn't even check his credentials.

Gah, just don't let any of them near me or mine should we ever be in a hospital bed after a disaster or some such.

@ RedRuby

Gertie anyone who tried to rope me or my child into a hospital photo opportunity would get short shrift too, i think.

I am still so genuinely flummoxed that any parent now would let their child marry a royal let alone the heir. The constant terrorist threat and security need. I mean, I know they are looked after and it is paid for by taxpayers.

And I know you can't stop an adult doing what they want let alone dictate who they marry. But God, if my son or children ever got to be friends with a royal let alone romantically I'd be warning them off from day one. A cushy life, but not a safe, normal, relaxed one.

I agree, her skirt/dress length is inappropriate, far too short.

bankrolled by the UK taxpayer? If not he can hire whoever he likes

Oh I see, you are bitter because YOU wanted to choose their nanny!

[eyeroll]

I am still so genuinely flummoxed that any parent now would let their child marry a royal let alone the heir.

last time I checked, Kate was an adult & can do what she likes, so this isn't about her her parents 'letting' do anything!!

I would hate their position- I don't envy it in the least.
I am laughing rather that Kate's parents let her marry him! I know there are some parents on MN who won't cut the apron strings but really- she is an adult!

Fair enough I sound like a loon! I just mean I'd have had a bloody good go to persuade her otherwise. Maybe they did.

Never a good idea to persuade an adult in that situation they are inclined to do the opposite!

AFAIK positive discrimination ie for example hiring a BME nanny rather than a white British nanny is illegal, making your statement that they should have done so a bit daft.

I am assuming they hired the person that best fitted the job's requirements.

Other than that, nothing to say from me other than I am no royalist.

YABU

Benefits far outweigh the drawbacks - by which I mean the £1 or so they cost me - which I class as my charity donation for the year.

I'd rather pay for them than 99% of the chuggers that try to part me from my precious cash.....

I don't know whether anyone has mentioned yet that the Duchy of Cornwall are exempt from corporation tax and probably a lot of others meaning that they are not paying up to 20% - in 2011 that works out as 3.6 million not paid on the income (roughly)

So just arguing that they are "funded by the Duchy of Cornwall" is a misnomer. That's a heavy subsidise ti on by the tax payer.
Again.

Well, they're posh and public-school educated, so their friends will be. You pick god-parents from among your friends, surely, rather than the one token person you know who went to a state school?

As for the foreign nanny and the constant round of holidays - I agree. Kate Middleton has done pretty much bugger all since she became a royal. Yes, she has a tiny list of charities that she supports, but when I think of her I see her on holiday, at the Olympics, attending the weddings of friends, at gala dinners in gowns, etc. Yes, she's had a baby and she had HG during her pregnancy, for which she had my profound sympathy, but she's not what I would call a hard-working royal. And as for Prince William, who quit his job as soon as she gave birth, I was a bit about that.

If you are a royalist you are basically saying you think prince Andrew is worthy of a head bow. That you are his subject.

at that.

Time to work on your self esteem me thinks.

Major I wasn't proposing they should be sacked/demoted/guillotined, merely suggesting they were slightly misreading their duties and PR requirements.

And £1 is the entirety of your (notional) annual charity donations. Wow.

I like them, I do despite all you sour pusses out there, jealous much!