William & Kate gone to Norfolk

[justgeton]

If they did this after school ended in London did they do it after London had gone to tier 3?

Yes, and don't start me on travelling to get to these places. They are helicoptered or limo driven... not struggling with cancelled trains, car punctures, cars not starting, pouring rain and getting wet.

Let the revolution begin!

Flog their houses and make them work for a living

Might help pay for this mess

@notafanoftheman

have to say HRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have done far more than could or should have been reasonably expected during thiis pandemic

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA other than actually putting their hands in their pockets or putting in an actual meaningful day’s work doing something useful.

How do you know they haven’t donated?

Can’t see how London isn’t the main residence when kids go to school there and they live there at least 30 weeks per year, surely, as a result.

Oh for god sake who cares. With everything that is going on. Their children finished school on 11th and they left them when it was perfectly legal and morally sound.

@CuriousaboutSamphire having a second home somewhere doesn’t make it someone’s main home if they actually live the vast majority of their time in tier 4.

having a second home somewhere doesn’t make it someone’s main home if they actually live the vast majority of their time in tier 4

I am not keen on second homes, but lets say for the sake of argument that I have a 4 bed house in eg Devon but work in London so have a one bed flat in London for Mondays to Fridays. What is my main home? I'd say it's the house, but it sounds like you're saying it has to be the flat because I spend more time in it.

If someone asked me to do the work of the Royal Family, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

To be fair a lot of people would hate to have to get dressed up and meet loads of people. But those people wouldn't pursue a life in the public eye. Plus they do have choice (and limitless options and resources) as to what kind of image they want to project, most of the female royals have a more more low key look. The Queen, Anne, Sophie, all do a million public appearances wearing fairly unshowy clothes and with the same hairstyles they've had for decades. I can't imagine Anne spending hours in the salon chair or buying Louboutins for a public appearance. Even the younger female royals like the York girls don't generally go for the super glam, highly polished celeb look the way Kate does.

I do feel a bit sorry for Kate because the way the media speculates on and tears apart the appearances of women in the public eye is really disgraceful and it must be hard to live under such constant scrutiny, but she doesn't have to spend hours having her hair blown out or having her makeup professionally done just to do things like take her kids to their first day of school. Kate obviously enjoys fashion and loves clothes. Nothing wrong with that but "getting dressed up" is hardly a reason for sympathy.

The three times a day thing is just laughable. And no way are they eating cardboard chicken, it's well-known that the Queen has a million rules about her food (like royals not being allowed to eat garlic, though I bet they break that in person), travels with a private chef, and anyone who cooks for her is provided with strict rules and menus.

I am not keen on second homes, but lets say for the sake of argument that I have a 4 bed house in eg Devon but work in London so have a one bed flat in London for Mondays to Fridays.

I used to do almost exactly that, although not those places, but I used to commute weekly. The difference was that DH and DCs, when they weren't away at university, also lived in our main home. Once I left that job and gave up my studio flat, I moved back to my old home. So let's not try to pretend that Anmer is anything but a second home.

During the spring lockdowns they also immediately cleared out there - while many people with small children were stuck in small flats without gardens.

So it wasn't against the law, but yes, they have bunked off again. It will be very interesting to see what will happen in January if schools open again but London is still in tier4.

[quote Onceuponatimethen]@CuriousaboutSamphire having a second home somewhere doesn’t make it someone’s main home if they actually live the vast majority of their time in tier 4.[/quote]
Tier 4 didn’t exist when they went. They went from one Tier 2 area to another Tier 2 area.

They do work hard, how many of us would want their jobs

Rubbish. They don't work hard, neither of them work or have jobs. If they find their life so difficult, restrictive, regulated etc, just give it up.

Let them try a proper job that the get on their own merits, where they have to work 9-5 or even shift work regardless of how they feel, what the weather is like or who they have to mix with or take instruction from. Let them consider leaving the chauffeur behind to drive themselves through commuter chaos, worry about the cost and availability of child care, sort out their own wardrobe of clothes, struggle to find a decent school or buy a house they can afford on a 'normal job' salary (just one house W&K), get one annual holiday they have been able to save for, pay their own taxes, mortgage, electricity, gas, tv and water bills. Clean their own house, shop for their own food and take daily risks without bodyguards.

They have a choice - and they will never swap for the routine, mundane daily existence most people have - not while we are paying them to freeload of our taxes.

Peregrina
Well, more to the point since we are not allowed to criticise the second in line to the throne and his fashion plate wife, how about asking where our Dear PM has gone? Did he bunk off to Chequers PDQ before last night?

Would he need to? As far as I can make out Chequers is in Tier 4, same as London, because it is in Buckinghamshire and that's Tier 4. Are you allowed to travel from one bit of Tier 4 to another? (It's 41 miles from Downing Street to Chequers.)

Once upon well colour me surprised!

It's fairly common out here. Older kids go through school in London, at least one parent works in London, but their main residence is out here, rural area where they can afford a large house, gardens etc.

Plenty of people rent or buy out here. It really isn't unusual. And almost all of them headed home last week!

There's a hell of a lot of them to be jealous of....

YABU, I could understand the angst had they gone to Kate's parents house, but they have gone to their own HUGE house and I would imagine without staff, before the travel ban. Although possibly the Nanny may have gone with them, because as I understand it, her family is abroad, so they probably would not want to leave her alone in London over Christmas. I reckon they will have a very informal 'Middleton' Christmas. Kate will do the cooking etc. They are not going to be wondering around spreading the virus.

at least three times a day

They can knock out three 'engagements' in a morning with a bit of creative reporting.

Just out of interest the last recorded royal activity on the Court Circular took place on 4th December. William's last engagement took place on 3rd December. Apparently there are currently no future engagements for any of them in the system. Not even one of the video link conferences or telephone calls with days inbetween (presumably to recover) that were recorded earlier in the year.

@StoneofDestiny Even if they gave it up, they wouldn't have those worries. William inherited millions from his mother and Kate's family are multimillionaires. She also has a trust fund. If they wanted, they could live a VERY NICE life without press intrusion, just like her sister does. I would swap in a heartbeat. They must believe in the purpose of what they do, or else why?

I think it's unfair to say they don't do much these days. For a while they did seem to be delaying adulthood for as long as possible, but these days they do a lot. Examples: Kate's work re families, addiction and supporting the elderly with phone calls. children's hospices. William raising MH awareness re young men, Earthshot.

If I were inclined to be annoyed with anyone, it is the Sussexes, especially since it was revealed they were offered the chance to live privately BEFORE the ludicrously expensive wedding. Whatever they might say, they appear to be trading off of their titles, whilst complaining how hard done to they are. That is distasteful. I do think MM gets undue flak though. I think Harry's PR was very good before he got married and now, his pillockness is just allowed to come out in full. I also think they are both equally damaged/spoilt by family dynamics and they and the situation bring out the worst in each other.

Anyway, there are my thoughts.

@StoneofDestiny

They do work hard, how many of us would want their jobs

Rubbish. They don't work hard, neither of them work or have jobs. If they find their life so difficult, restrictive, regulated etc, just give it up.

Let them try a proper job that the get on their own merits, where they have to work 9-5 or even shift work regardless of how they feel, what the weather is like or who they have to mix with or take instruction from. Let them consider leaving the chauffeur behind to drive themselves through commuter chaos, worry about the cost and availability of child care, sort out their own wardrobe of clothes, struggle to find a decent school or buy a house they can afford on a 'normal job' salary (just one house W&K), get one annual holiday they have been able to save for, pay their own taxes, mortgage, electricity, gas, tv and water bills. Clean their own house, shop for their own food and take daily risks without bodyguards.

They have a choice - and they will never swap for the routine, mundane daily existence most people have - not while we are paying them to freeload of our taxes.

Precisely. What really annoys me is when they bang on about the environment then chose a school that involves their children and protection officers being driven miles across London in a couple of huge gas guzzling vehicles twice a day. So great for the lungs of all the other children who live on along their route.

Not that it matters, but it was in the press that they quarantined with some of their household staff. I think it's unlikely they wouldn't have at least some of their regular live-in staff around and certainly at least their nanny, most of the senior royals had staff quarantining with them (there was a big hoo ha around the Queen and Charles both expecting their much more substantial household staffs to spend months away from their families) and doubt they'd do stuff like joint Zoom meetings without another adult in the house to watch the kids. Plus their nanny/possibly other staff probably regard Anmer as their home and want to keep working and having as normal a life as possible.

Examples: Kate's work re families, addiction and supporting the elderly with phone calls.
I mean, it's sweet that she makes phone calls to elderly people, but is her "work" (e.g. the famous 5 questions survey that took many years to come to fruition) on early years and addiction really in any way meaningful or contributing to the field of addiction/MH research and treatment?

It came out this year that she'd literally never visited two of her patronages once since the day she became patron. That's not doing the work, it's capitalising off someone else's work.

The garden was nice I guess.

No one can be surprised at this. They are not like us. They don't give a hoot how it looks. I expect they will have to stay there and have an excuse to do very little for a bit.

@ChocolateSantaisthebestkind

YABU, I could understand the angst had they gone to Kate's parents house, but they have gone to their own HUGE house and I would imagine without staff, before the travel ban. Although possibly the Nanny may have gone with them, because as I understand it, her family is abroad, so they probably would not want to leave her alone in London over Christmas. I reckon they will have a very informal 'Middleton' Christmas. Kate will do the cooking etc. They are not going to be wondering around spreading the virus.

Without staff? I highly doubt it. I do not think Kate or William are fighting over whose turn it is to hoover up.

Diane Abbot's son is seriously unwell. I thought MN was keen on supporting those with mental health problems.

I also don't understand why a random woman who earned her own money was dragged onto a thread about the royals?

people who are very brave sat behind a laptop

You're having a laugh. Here are a few examples of people I know who have been sat behind a laptop....

Me - working 12 hours a day supporting schools to deal with covid, now moving onto helping to organise mass vaccinations via several months of data analysis of covid infections.

My husband - also working 12 hour days as a senior civil servant in a governmental department working on covid (and not being listened to by his minister as usual)

My brother in law - working long hours in the NHS from home organising the setting up of labs and drive ins for testing

My friend - working long hours supporting patients with cancer virtually.

Another friend - working ling hours from behind a laptop on the paperwork and admin needed to get covid research projects up and running, tracking recruitment of patients etc

I could go on.

None of us have had any jollies on a train or wore a selection of nice coats to smile and wave to plebs in.

I mean, it's sweet that she makes phone calls to elderly people, but is her "work" (e.g. the famous 5 questions survey that took many years to come to fruition) on early years and addiction really in any way meaningful or contributing to the field of addiction/MH research and treatment?

No. And suggesting it is is insulting to the underfunded academics and medics who really are working hard to push knowledge forward.