Kate and William - what are they doing? Thread 2

[Pelleas]

A continuation of the thread discussing the Cambridges' contribution to the pandemic.

Don't know how she'd have felt about beautiful, younger women marrying into the family

I wonder how she would have coped with the whole process of ageing. She'd be coming up to 59 if she were still alive (she was born in the same year as my husband which is how I remember this!). I think her nose would have been put badly out of joint by beautiful young entrants to the family, but there again is possible William and Harry might have married different women had she still been alive, because their lives might not have taken quite the same course.

I never understood the popularity of the queen mother. She was a deeply racist bigot, who died owing millions to the bank despite a hugely generous allowance.

I agree, Twirlycat. I think she'd been around forever and had a charming smile so people saw her as a cuddly 'granny' figure without giving any consideration to how she'd actually lived her life.

One thing Diana does deserve credit for is the work she did for people with HIV and AIDS. There was so much stigma and misconception about it at the time and seeing her hugging people who were positive went a long way towards dismantling it. I know people who worked at the HIV charity where she was patron, and they said she'd often come in and chat to service users or sit by the bedside of someone very ill. The press didn't know about it so it was never reported. Her anti-landmine campaigning was also commendable.

Twirlycat
Yes - a deeply unpleasant woman, very racist and on her death left an enormous debt because of her extravagance.

@SamanthaBrique I agree.

I think the truth about the QM didn't start to come out until she died. Maybe a mixture of remnants of a feeling of deference, maybe not wanting to go too hard on the royals because it was only a few years after Diana died, maybe her age but it's been far more gloves off with the distance of time.

Her cuddly persona was well at odds with the hard drinking, gambling debt ridden truth.

A pertinent question is why sov to sov bequests are free of inheritance tax. HM saved a very handy £20m with that little tax break

So sophie wessex has been volunteering once a week, making lunches for NHS staff.

@Mamamia456 can you please explain to me why this is not a security nightmare, and why nobody is damning her for doing this?

Surely that's a burly PPO standing in the corner, job done?

If Princess Sofia of Sweden and Duchess Sophie of Wessex can do something, why isn't William doing something? Surely he can make some deliveries?

What does Sophie do for the rest of the time? Has she got a job? And what does Edward do from day to day? Why can't he get a job?

If Princess Sofia of Sweden and Duchess Sophie of Wessex can do something, why isn't William doing something?

Because he’s lazy and entitled.

@eddiemairswife I think Sophie and Edward do quite a lot by royal standards and they're the go-to Windsors for weddings etc. She's done a lot of work with charities for women who've been victims of sexual violence and he's taken over the work for the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.

Wolfgirrl - I'm sure I'm correct in saying that the Wessexs are only entitled to security when carrying out royal duties. I don't think many people would even recognise Sophie would they?

William and Kate are classed as senior royals with him being a direct heir to the throne and Kate as future queen. They are obviously more recognisable and more likely to be a target for fanatics hence more security measures required.

@mamamia456 but it's perfectly safe for them to visit charities for half hour 'meetings' in normal times, when there are far more people out and about?

i don't think many people would even recognise Sophie would they?

Make your blooming minds up, on the last thread her “valuable contribution” was making videos watched by hundreds of thousands of people. Honestly shooting down royalist arguments = fish in a barrel.

What does Sophie do for the rest of the time? Has she got a job?

This sort of thing:

21 April 2020
The Countess of Wessex, Royal Patron, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, this afternoon held a Meeting via video link.

20 April 2020
The Countess of Wessex, Chairman, Women in Business Committee, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, this afternoon held a Meeting via video link.

16 April 2020
The Earl of Wessex, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation, this afternoon chaired a Development Group Meeting via a conference call.

If you're the Chairman of the Board you can't just turn up and act dumb - there will be a lot of preparation involved beforehand.

Oops - copied the wrong one -
The Countess of Wessex this afternoon participated in an International Video Conference with women's rights and peace practitioners of the Women's Alliance for Security Leadership.

@Pelleas me, me, me and that is all ...

Sophie was in PR wasn’t she? What does she know about security leader ship? Why not get some actual experts in instead?

Wolfgirrl - Who are we talking about William and Kate? Because they would have bodyguards/security with them.

@mamamia456

So presumably said bodyguards and security could accompany them while they do some practical work like sophie wessex?

I bet the other royals are sat by their swimming pools cursing sophie wessex for dispelling the myth that they cant possibly do any practical work because, well, because they're royal. And it would be a security nightmare.

I will however change my view slightly on Sophie Wessex. I admire her for being the first to roll her sleeves up and get stuck in.

Burney Fanny - I'm not questioning her contribution, don't know where you've got that from. I'm just saying that she isn't as high profile as Kate therefore she doesn't require the same amount of security.

If you're the Chairman of the Board you can't just turn up and act dumb - there will be a lot of preparation involved beforehand

What? That simply isn’t true - he gets briefed, the trustees have roles and they have teams behind them - the trustees feed back to the meeting -!the chair adds very little indeed - and certainly not expertise or labour!.