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.

France is the country in europe most visited by tourists. I would love it if a royal was state educated ...

He strikes me as slightly immature and maybe not that bright - if you look at him making a speech at the Brits for example, compared to such bright actors, actresses, and directors etc.
She strikes me as slightly light-weight and superficial. But that may be just as well given the media's obsession with appearances.

I think they should choose the charities they support very carefully, since this is their main job as far as I can see. And they will be judged on it !

"Of course he is an over-privileged posh boy, he is a prince.

If you are going to have a royal family, you can't complain when they behave like a royal family."

Of course you're right Morloth but why can't William be more like Charles?

Raising a future king to adulthood is a huge responsibility.

I'm sure politicians could smarm to the right dignitaries and at least are elected so we can get rid. I would rather spend an hour with Cameron or milliband than with prince Andrew allegedly the dullest man on the planet.

according to a cursory read - the sovereign grant only covers air and train costs, Duchy of Cornwall picks up just about everything else (estimated at £1m for DUchy of Cornwall but I can;t be bothered to dig out the accounts)

There is talk of the sovereign grant picking up more costs with PRince Charles taking on more of Queens duties and WIlliam picking up more of Charles but I don;t think thats been agreed.

I don't happen to think that sucking up to Qatari or Saudi royals is a good thing at all. Disgusting regimes.

I cannot stand the royal family. The whole lot of them need to fuck off.

Though I'm sure they will be happy to hand it over to a housemistress when baby King reaches 8!
Sorry, seriously: raising baby kings matters more? It's harder work? The rest of us don't really care how our kids turn out?

why can't William be more like Charles? in what way?

The idea that we 'need' Royals for political and diplomatic reasons is a bit much, TBH. They are decorative, ceremonial etc. Which is okay, if they do it well.

William is a deluded spoiled little boy. His vile wife is a deluded idle immature little girl. They'll (along with her family) be the end of the monarchy.

Wild thong, I know you have left the room, but in case anyone else was under your illusion, hiring a foreign nanny does not equate to not being racist.

Charles seems to genuinely get stuck in Kew, researches, seeks out experts, pursues things long term, advocates for UK charities, tries to understand the issues.

Prince's Trust being a good example

I like them, or what I know of them (not a lot) which is why I think the Royal Family should be closed down, because the thought that all these perfectly nice people should be forced to do this, that or the other because they were born into it is just plain weird. I also think it's quite difficult to 'appreciate your position' every day of the week, after all I am extremely privileged compared to 99% of the world's population and I struggle to do it.

I'd like the Head of State to be elected by phone vote, or possibly lottery, but each person who wins should only be in it for a year. Like Miss World. I think they should have one personal charity or cause that they are allowed to bang on about, and a basic list of ceremonial duties. I think that would be quite entertaining all round. I nominate Kerry Katona for the first stint.

Having said that, I think that Prince Charles should be allowed to be King for a bit first because it would be just awful to chuck him on the scrapheap after all those decades of hanging about, and he'd probably go completely off the rails and start doing Sky Movies adverts for Rupert Murdoch. The next lot are young enough to go back to work and make a life for themselves.

Vile?

I wonder what proportion of palace stuff are BME, by the way? (Slight tangent)

I don;t think I've ever come across such spiteful comments about people you haven't met (not you OP but others)

No of course we don't need them any overprivileged upper class white geezer (statistically) would do as head of state and probably wouldn't do a significantly differnt job.

Our children won't be slated and judged at every cut and turn by the press and online forums. That will be a lot to cope with for the rest of your life.

Kewcumber - oh, I thoroughly agree and would love to get into a deep conversation about that some time, but it has to be said that a very great share of the "British Economy" has been staked (unwisely) on relationships fostered in large part by our Royal family's involvement.

At this stage, those relationships are in every sense crucial to our continued illusion of being above the line of bankruptcy, to most industry in the UK and directly or indirectly affect the subsistence of probably most Brits who post on this forum.

bet he didn't when he was though fideline! I am old enough to remember the press pictures of him gadding around the world with a succession of women and playing polo and hunting.

Well they might if they're benefits claimants, ironically!

when he was 30!

Truly considered analysis from onesleeptillwembley there. Wow - how much of the Daily Mail comments board did you have to read to string that together?

Our children will also have to find some way to get a mortgage to buy a house, compete in an ever more uncertain jobs market and pay their own actual way through life, of course...a lot to cope with likewise.