Thoughts on Prince William's speech?

[Aspiringmatriarch]

I've been musing on this, I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the Bashir interview created a 'false narrative'. Obviously Diana was lied to, which is appalling, and I'm sure that fueled some of her paranoia but isn't it true that she was spied on at times e.g. with the squidgygate tapes? And she'd already collaborated with Andrew Morton saying many of the same things, and apparently wanted to do an interview after Charles gave his.

I don't know... it just feels odd to me that William is essentially asking for it to be struck from the record. He was apparently angry with her after the Bashir interview and was teased about it at school, which must have been horrible. Is he trying to protect her memory or is there an element of trying to tidy it all away?

I doubt william wants the job at the moment. Also doubt he has be trained up enough

Not sure about that one, Samcro. I realise it takes more than a few meetings, but wasn't it said that the Queen used to have him over regularly while he was at Eton, to pass on her own approach?

Certainly he's taking a different one to his father, and it's hard not to wonder if HM saw an opportunity in him which had passed with Charles

@SteveArnottsCodeine

Great post. I'm inclined to agree with you... after all, it is protect the Monarchy at all costs.
And sometimes the cost is huge.

Also doubt he has be trained up enough

The Queen - arguably the most successful monarch in history - was 26 when she succeeded the throne. How much “training” is necessary?

I do think the Princes Trust is what Charles will be remembered for

Well, I guess better that then talking to tulips and the Tampax Tapes ...

I do agree though that the Prince's Trust is one of his more admirable initiatives, so at least there's something

Only a thought.Maybe Charles doesn't want to pass the responsibility on to William until he's older because he wants to 'break the cycle ' as in allowing him and Kate a bit more time whilst their children are young.Maybe they have even discussed it,Along with slimming down the monarchy.And now Harry has gone there will already be more for W and K to take on.Experiencing his own mother having the main role thrust on her when very young,as were her first 2 children,there's every possibility he wants to spare his son that.William has been building up steadily with living in Anglesey first and the air ambulance.Then increasing more involvement with the Duchy etc.And yes the Princes Trust has been a great initiative. Literally turned lives around.DH has first hand experience of the impact it has.

As for talikng to tulips.That could be me.Hugely interested in wildlife and plants and actually think the wildflower meadows that PC has championed all over the country are something really positive.If that was my legacy I would be thrilled.

[quote GyozaPoser]@Taketheredpill I think, I hope, Harry has more sense than to start shooting publicly at William. It will make him no better than MM's ghastly father. [/quote]
I don’t think anything Harry has said is directed at individuals.
He is talking about the system and inherited patterns of behaviour and what he says makes sense.

The problem the royals have is the whole system is archaic and ridiculous so they will find themselves trying to defend the indefensible.
After the Oprah interview , William’s little laugh and pronouncement ‘ we are not a racist family’ was a case in point.
It came across as high handed , telling the little people how it is. A privileged white man pronouncing on racism.

Get rid of the lot of them .

On that basis it would be hard to blame William to striking out on his own, though it's interesting to hear he's keen on the Duchy ... I wonder if this has anything to do with the unaccountable moneyspinner it is, or that he'd also enjoy a legal veto over anything which didn't quite suit? I knew people would interpret my post like that. William was interested in continuing Charles' interest in organic agriculture and supporting the tenant farmers.

A privileged white man pronouncing on racism

A journalist shouted “Is your family racist?” What do you expect him to have said? I imagine he wanted to say “Fuck off”, I certainly would have done. And didn’t another privileged white man closely related to him pronounce on racism too?

No offence intended, Derxa - I realised what you meant, and saw the programme too
However I was merely wondering if there were any motives beyond the obvious, which wouldn't be unknown among the RF

And didn’t another privileged white man closely related to him pronounce on racism too?

FFS Blossom. Can you argue or debate ANYTHING without bring Harry into it. You are obsessed!!!!

”William has the nebulous Royal Foundation thing”

The "Royal Foundation thing" cannot be nebulous due to the rules regarding the incorporation of charitable entities. The aims and objectives must be clearly defined. The Royal Foundation is focussed on conservation (including the Earthshot prize), early years, mental health, the emergency responders community and in the short term, on the response to COVID-19.

It raises a great deal of money: Of the £9.3m spent in 2019, £8.2m was spent on charitable activities, representing 87% of total expenditure....For 2018, this was £7.6m, representing 84% of total expenditure. More information, including the latest financial report is available HERE.

The Court Circular is the official record of past royal engagements. With regards to Prince William - while the length of each engagement is not shown, it's clear that a significant number of hours is spent on meetings with organisations that are supported by the Royal Foundation, in addition to meetings with patronages. Example:

17th March 2021

The Duke of Cambridge this morning spoke to Ms. Maria Wafer (Staff Nurse), Chest Clinic, Royal Victoria Infirmary, and Ms. Victoria Miller (Psychologist), Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust, via telephone.

His Royal Highness afterwards spoke to Dr. Liza Thomas-Emrus (Medical Lead), Ysbyty'r Seren, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Bennett Street, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, via telephone.

The Duke of Cambridge subsequently spoke to Dr. Alison Clarke (Assistant Director of Therapies and Health Sciences), Swansea Bay University Health Board, Port Talbot, West Glamorgan, via telephone.

His Royal Highness later spoke to Dr. Nicola Smallcombe (Respiratory Registrar), St. Bartholomew's Hospital, West Smithfield, London EC1, via telephone.

The Duke of Cambridge afterwards spoke to Dr. Kiren Collinson (Interim Deputy Medical Director for Primary Care), NHS England and NHS Improvement, Wellington House, Waterloo Road, London SE1, via telephone.

His Royal Highness subsequently spoke to Dr. David Arnold (Respiratory Specialist Registrar), North Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Southmead Road, Bristol, via telephone.

The Duke of Cambridge later spoke to Dr. Thelma Craig (Consultant, Respiratory Care), Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Shankill Road, Belfast, via video link.

There are days with fewer meetings, days with more meetings plus days with none. Only a fraction of engagements (meetings) are reported in the mainstream press, making it impossible to know for certain how many hours PW (or any royal) 'works' on average.

The Duke of Cambridge afterwards spoke to Dr. Kiren Collinson (Interim Deputy Medical Director for Primary Care), NHS England and NHS Improvement, Wellington House, Waterloo Road, London SE1, via telephone.

Take the above for example. I’d be interested to know what a royal can bring to the above conversation and how long they would spend on the phone. I can only think of it being useful if they were arranging to a royal visit or put his name to something but that would be a cordial Tel conversation only while his staff did the arrangements. I’d hazard a guess they are in the call too and the royal is just sitting in listening to others more than anything else.

Perhaps they are discussing fund raising strategies or how the Foundation can support them. Or how they can provide publicity. A phone call probably isn’t just a “chat”. Lots of people make telephone calls and it is part of their “work”.

I called it nebulous because I think it lacks the clarity of DofE or the Princes Trust in its aims and even its areas of focus. “Conservation (including the Earthshot prize), early years, mental health, the emergency responders community and in the short term, on the response to COVID-19” is a very broad waterfront.

No need to royalsplain the Court Circular. I am familiar with it.

The thing is.... when M&H covered lots of different things, they were roundly criticised on here a LOT. It was continual and it was called a scattergun approach, and them not being able to stick at anything.

So really neither two couples are much different in covering a broad base. I must remember this when that criticism comes up again. Which it will 🤣

Perhaps they are discussing fund raising strategies or how the Foundation can support them. Or how they can provide publicity

This will be William's team, and his secretary who looks after his affairs.

We saw in their lockdown zoom calls that they don't say anything of much merit and apart from speaking to schoolkids, their 'talk' is scripted.

Perhaps William does sit in. I'd also hazard a guess his presence is not really required.

@Blossomtoes

I know it never leaves you *@Roussette* but how much time and therapy does it take to make some kind of peace with it? The continuing rawness after more than 20 years is really unhealthy.

When I was 32 years on from a trauma I finally got therapy for it. Never offered before. Didn't know about this type of therapy. If not given help at the time it's hardly a child's fault. Believe me, no one wants to be still struggling decades later.

@Roussette

Well.... Harry served for 10 years in the Army and managed to set up Invictus so I think doing a part time job for two years is no excuse.

Especially given all the resources available to him.

Exactly.

They don't actually organise it themselves.

They come up with an idea and their employees do the leg work. Same as most companies. Work is delegated and everyone has a task to do.

@Roussette

I've said it all along on these threads... I think HMQ should've abdicated 20 years ago, it's not unheard of to do this in european royal houses. Then Charles would've had a crack at being Monarch whilst he was still fresh and wanted to, and he could've done the same for William.

I bet Camilla is absolutely dreading it. I read (no idea if it's true) that she spends a lot of time at her family home in Wiltshire whilst Charles is at Highgrove.
I think becoming King is going to be a huge shock to the system for them both.
I don't doubt he did want it.. but time has marched on, and here he is in his 70s.

There's a good argument for this.

The queen may have 3-9 years yet (ish)

So Charles will be 75-85 ish when he makes the throne and William already 43-50.

Charles will do 20 odd years and William will be 60/70 ish when he becomes king.

In 40 ish years time George will then become King at 50 ish. He then may reign for 40/50 years and his child will become king queen at 50/60 ish.

I think we need a younger Monarch who can lead and inspire. Someone who can be out and about in public and therefore they should have to retire/abdicate at 75/80 years of age.

@pinkmagnolias

And didn’t another privileged white man closely related to him pronounce on racism too?

FFS Blossom. Can you argue or debate ANYTHING without bring Harry into it. You are obsessed!!!!

Didn’t mention the H word. 🤷‍♀️

I agree. I look at King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain... his father Juan Carlos abdicated 7 years ago when he was 82 (for dodgy dealings... in fact his Wiki page looks v similar to Andrew's!) and the now King and Queen who took over in their 40s just look so vibrant and relateable.
This could be william & kate!

I am just not sure Charles and Camilla will tick the boxes for the general public.

A journalist shouted “Is your family racist?” What do you expect him to have said? I imagine he wanted to say “Fuck off”, I certainly would have done.

That was fairly obviously staged, considering that exchange took place at one of Kate's events that originally only Kate was scheduled to attend (William was added to Kate's event at the last minute), that the press were all invited to attend, and that William arranged things so that a black school employee would be walking next to him past the very same area where the invited press had been asked to wait.

William wanted to issue a rebuttal to Harry's statement (which is fine, he's perfectly entitled to do so) and he stage managed the school event as a way to do so.

@ohforarainyday

A journalist shouted “Is your family racist?” What do you expect him to have said? I imagine he wanted to say “Fuck off”, I certainly would have done.

That was fairly obviously staged, considering that exchange took place at one of Kate's events that originally only Kate was scheduled to attend (William was added to Kate's event at the last minute), that the press were all invited to attend, and that William arranged things so that a black school employee would be walking next to him past the very same area where the invited press had been asked to wait.

William wanted to issue a rebuttal to Harry's statement (which is fine, he's perfectly entitled to do so) and he stage managed the school event as a way to do so.

And your point is? That his PR operation arranged for the journalist to shout a question at him? Even if it did, so what?

William wanted to issue a rebuttal to Harry's statement (which is fine, he's perfectly entitled to do so) and he stage managed the school event as a way to do so

Everything is staged and it’s very apparent. I’d say William has no time whatsoever for his ‘subjects’.