Kate Middleton should have had a job.

[MoralDefective]

AIBU to be bemused and a bit dissapointed that after years of expensive education that Kate Middleton has never had a proper job.
What a shame that an apparently intelligent young woman has spent the last (7?) years since university seemingly waiting to get married.
It makes me wonder why she went to university in the first place.
Such a waste of opportunities and good fortune.

[Bonsoir]

Actually, I think that you don't want to be too bright to be married to Prince William... or you'd get very bored...

[KittyFoyle]

Now the Royals are looking beyond their immediate family for partners the next generation might be a bit sparkier.

[onimolap]

"well none of her new in-laws have what you would actually call a proper job do they?!"

The Countess of Wessex tried; but faced non-stop criticism (potential abuse of connexions, and actual set-up). The Earl attempted various enterprises, but proved not to have the necessary acumen; but he did give it a go.

HRH Prince Andrew really flew helicopters during the Falklands War (and Prince Phillip's rack of medals were nearly all really won on military operations in WW22

HMQ is reportedly still able to strip the engine out of a 4-tonner (her wartime service as a mechanic).

The Princess Royal won Olympic Gold. Zara Phillips might do the same.

I can't see what Kate could havce done - other than go back to university. Even charity work would have led to accusations that she was presuming on a status she had not yet got. She'd have been papped out of any normal job, and a major target for press set ups.

I think they got it right in seeking a relatively protected position for her. Unless there is a poster here who works for Party Pieces, we simply do not know what her working life has been like. Even if it was fairly mundane, that's hardly unique for a graduate these days, is it?

[NorhamGardens]

Her job at Party Pieces will have meant she was cushioned and protected to a degree. When those you love are at the helm you don't have to worry about losing your job, an unpredictable boss, a horrible, unexpected showdown etc. It will also have probably meant that she could come and go as she pleased, annual leave could be extended etc. She will have had real flexibility in the role.

Having worked for a family business and knowing a little about about how they work this isn't unusual. The daughter of the firm I worked for often started late and finished early. She was extremely bright, pleasant and hard working when she was in the office but undeniably the 'rules' were different and she was protected from some of the harsher realities of office life and the working world.

I can see that Kate's choices were limited though and it looks like it was a sensible option. She seems mature, intelligent and pleasant too.

You can't compare it to a normal graduate in a mundane job. I've had a few soul destroying posts in my time. I knew I could lose my job at any time, the boss looked at his watch if I was 2 minutes late back from lunch, the office dragon made me carry a huge franking machine to the post office and my life a misery and so on. While I was addressing envelopes and filing there was a also a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I could be out next week and unable to pay my rent. I was also emotionally unhappy as I was qualified to do more and concerned I'd never make it.

[AitchTwoOh]

"The Countess of Wessex tried; but faced non-stop criticism (potential abuse of connexions, and actual set-up)."

actual abuse of connections, actually. mahoosively so. i know someone who worked for her.

[EightiesChick]

It's damned if you do, damned if you don't. I do sort of see why she is being criticised for apparently not caring much for a career - but the system she is entering doesn't really allow for it. I do feel strongly that education has inherent value in itself, and shouldn't need to be justified by having to get some worthy/big bucks jobs afterwards to prove what a great investment it was (the view the Tories are now pushing hard ).

The one suggestion made here that I can see might have been workable would have been working in an art gallery or in some arts-based organisation, given her degree. Even then, decent posts like that would be very competitive, and she'd probably have been accused of being favoured over better qualified candidates if she's got a job at the National Portrait Gallery or something like that. But that or a charity - by which I mean an actual paid, but low-level job for a charity, rather than charity work in the royal sense - would have been the best option.

I can also see that she would want to be flexible as the partner of someone serving in the forces. Shame no-one could accommodate this better. Makes me think of people like Kelly Holmes who had an army career but (presumably) was allowed flexibility to compete in top-level athletics meetings. Could no organisation have offered her similar leeway?

I agree also that she's actually had a good preparation for the job of being a royal wife. From what I've read about it, it's not necessarily intellectually taxing but it does require you to be able to stay calm and pleasant and look interested through hours of touring primary schools, hospital wards and plastics factories, and ask reams of inoffensive but apparently thoughtful questions. I think it would drive me mad with boredom but it seems to have some value for at least some of the people visited. She seems like she has developed the emotional stamina to deal with it. If she'd spent her time doing something high-flying it'd probably be a lot harder to adjust.

[LivinInThe80s]

"It makes me wonder why she went to University in the first place"???? Well, she didn't know William then, did she - so presumably she intended to have some kind of career after uni.

She did work for a while but TBH I'm glad she doesn't - think of the security she would have to have around her (paid for by us of course!!). She went to private school, presumably her parents paid her uni fees too so it's not as if she's "wasting" a state-paid education. And I'm sure when she is married she will become heavily involved with various charities and be given lots of opportunities to use her brain.

[diddl]

"I do sort of see why she is being criticised for apparently not caring much for a career - but the system she is entering doesn't really allow for it"

No, but for how long has she known that she would enter "this system"?

i do think that working for the family gave her the chance to be available to a degree that she wouldn´t otherwise have been able to.

But perhaps it has been known for a while that they would marry & that´s why she did it.

But surely as the wife of the future king, a degree can´t be considered a waste?

[KittyFoyle]

AitchtwoOh - why is using connections 'abuse'. What's the point of them? This is the age of LinkedIn, Facebook etc They are only new versions of what has always been the case.

[BecauseImWorthIt]

Her job at Party Pieces will have meant she was cushioned and protected to a degree. When those you love are at the helm you don't have to worry about losing your job, an unpredictable boss, a horrible, unexpected showdown etc. It will also have probably meant that she could come and go as she pleased, annual leave could be extended etc. She will have had real flexibility in the role.

This is such a sweeping generalisation and a massive assumption.

You have no idea what her actual circumstances were!

[KittyFoyle]

Haven't you seen Bree and her son in Desperate Housewives?

[AitchTwoOh]

whatever, kitty... she was not a good boss, hers was a terrible PR company to deal with, and she lied to foreign clients about access to the royal family.

[KittyFoyle]

I'm not defending her - I know nothing about her and forgot she existed until she wandered out on Remembrance Sunday. Being a crap boss and a shite company which makes promises they have no intention of keeping is another issue. I use all the useful connections I can and will encourage my kids to do the same.

[AitchTwoOh]

bully for you.

[KittyFoyle]

thanks sweetie

[AitchTwoOh]

?

[KittyFoyle]

Bully for you is a term indicating praise, sometimes with a hint of sarcasm but often not. At first sight it seems an odd use of "bully" until one realises that the word had a 16th century meaning of fine fellow, sweetheart which probably came from the middle Dutch Boele = Lover.

I imagine yours had more than 'a hint of sarcasm' but chose to supply my image of you with a more generous nature than you wanted to display this evening.

[AitchTwoOh]

kitty, why don't you take a wee look at yourself? i wrote "actual abuse of connections, actually. mahoosively so. i know someone who worked for her."

i didn't ever write that using connections equalled abuse of connections, which is what you nevertheless seem to have taken umbrage at.

i wrote, because i know of her and her business practices, that she did actually abuse her connections, in that she offered more to clients in terms of her royal status than she could or would ever provide. this was also amply established by a sting operation run on her by a tabloid newspaper. okay?

no doubt you'll be apologising for your pissy tone now that you see your embarrassing error.

[Quattrocento]

I dunno, seems a bit off to criticise Kate Middleton for not being Xenia. Very few women are. There are lots on this forum who basically don't work and expect to be kept by husbands/fathers/the state. Why pick on Kate Middleton?

[NorhamGardens]

I said:

her job at Party Pieces will have meant she was cushioned and protected to a degree. When those you love are at the helm you don't have to worry about losing your job, an unpredictable boss, a horrible, unexpected showdown etc. It will also have probably meant that she could come and go as she pleased, annual leave could be extended etc. She will have had real flexibility in the role.

Because I'm worth it said:

This is such a sweeping generalisation and a massive assumption.

You have no idea what her actual circumstances were!


I should have said her job at Party Pieces may well have meant that she was more cushioned and protected than if she was working in another post.

I stand by this part. Her parents ran the company, they are apparently a very close family and have her best interests at heart and love her. This is highly likely to make things easier than they might otherwise be. From my own experience in any case.

Of course this does not mean to say there may not have be other obstacles she had to face at work. In my experience silent resentment from some other employees who were not allowed the same flexibility. It's also possible that her parents were incredibly tough task masters and she felt under huge pressure to prove herself but that isn't the feeling I get. We can't know of course. I would still say you are less likely to be fired too, again looking at the company I worked for.

[KittyFoyle]

I never take umbrage unless it's lying around and no-one needs it.

If you take a little peek at yourself you'll notice I was referring to your sarky response to my mentioning using my own connections. No sure why you find my imaginary error embarrassing. I'm sure you'll get over it.

[AitchTwoOh]

"KittyFoyle Fri 19-Nov-10 20:57:52

AitchtwoOh - why is using connections 'abuse'. What's the point of them? This is the age of LinkedIn, Facebook etc They are only new versions of what has always been the case."

as per my last post... i didn't say that using connections is 'abuse'.

i said that she was abusing connections, which has been amply established as fact.

that is your error. you didn't read what i wrote. bit of an embarrassing mistake, i'd have thought.

[Bonsoir]

"There are lots on this forum who basically don't work and expect to be kept by husbands/fathers/the state. Why pick on Kate Middleton?"

I haven't come across many people on this forum who expect to be kept by anyone: most MNers work pretty hard raising DCs and taking care of their home and DH. Since leaving university, Kate Middleton hasn't had a home, DH or DCs to raise and care for.

I think her professional ambitions were severely compromised by her relationship with Prince William. But I still think she could have done some more studies.

[Beveridge]

I was tutting and nodding along with the 'can't believe she doesn't have a proper job' and then I thought about it. After leaving Uni, I stumbled into working in Social Care for a number of years, all unqualified posts as I didn't have a DipSw so by some people's definition a 'waste' of my History degree.

Didn't know what I wanted for a career, couldn't make a decision, thought I'd coast along for a bit and maybe do the DipSW at some point.

It wasn't until I was almost 30 that I realised I wanted to teach (and realised I was finally ready for it, thanks in no small part to the kind of jobs I had done in my 20s). Did my PGCE, loved it ever since.

Maybe KM just hadn't reached that point of working out what she wanted to do? She's not even 30 yet, just a young thing in my book...

[beatenbyayellowteacup]

Wow a lot of heartfelt reactions here!

I can't help thinking that it would be nice for the future Queen or Crown Princess had something she was interested in other than shopping and playing hockey/rowing. None of these things are bad but she is a bit bland.

Education is good for it's own sake - no issue there. But where's her voice? Where is her 3rd dimension??