Princess of Wales article in Financial Times (25-03-2023)

[RYGO]

Investing in early childhood is a down payment on all our futures | Financial Times (ft.com)

I think the royal family are waaaay down the list of those with the ability to cause change/damage. In fact most of the detractors on this thread are wittering about their ineffectuality. Can't have it both ways.

Abdicate peacefully and join the ranks of the citizenry and the problem goes away. Being an integral part of the British "constitution" makes them theoretically accountable and open to criticism. Few care what the Duke of Westminster or the Marquess of Bath do or don't do, and they are pretty much free to enjoy their huge unearned wealth in relative privacy. The Windsor's have it in their own hands to say enough is enough and walk away. They can even wear silk breeches and wigs if they must.

@Coxspurplepippin It was an answer to a hypothetical question. Because currently they're not allowed to do more than smiling and waving and a bit of charity fundraising etc. So yes, quite ineffective in that respect. But we know the RF can and do influence laws, for example when it comes to the protecting the secrecy of their finances. Imagine if they were allowed even more power, eg getting involved with politics openly, the influence they'll have WILL be considerable.

Anyone watched the video in Iceland?
it’s just a lot of words with them both saying “so interesting”
and “absolutely” and “serving the community” a lot without actually saying anything of substance

'Being an integral part of the British "constitution" makes them theoretically accountable and open to criticism.'

'Theoretically open to criticism........' hahahahahaha. Only 'theoretically'? Just as well it's only theoretical - obviously all the threads criticising absolutely every facet of their lives, whether justified or otherwise are a figment of our collective imagination.

'Because currently they're not allowed to do more than smiling and waving and a bit of charity fundraising etc.'
But the whole premis of the denigrating posts on this thread are that they don't do more than smiling to waving etc.

What do republicans want exactly? No RF - what replaces them? Political posting? Apolitical posting? Figurehead? Someone to cut ribbons? Someone to raise awareness? Keep the government in check or on their toes? 51% of the population vote for one candidate, 49% for another, then what happens (apart from a disgruntled 49%)? Boris as president? Joey Essex? (Probably no more than we deserve).

I have seen it cringeworthy - the litmus test is would the Queen have done it and if so what would she have said ? She didn't do word salad. I may be a gnarled old bitter Republican but like my dear departed mum they don't make them like that anymore, more's the pity, but then they both lived through the war. I actually cried when the Queen died, but it was probably just a bit of dust.* * s

'Because currently they're not allowed to do more than smiling and waving and a bit of charity fundraising etc.'But the whole premis of the denigrating posts on this thread are that they don't do more than smiling to waving etc.

I do think they could do more than what they do within their current remits, if they really tried. I think they just pay lip service to things because it's easy to just leave it at that. For eg, Kate's EY thing. She's been at it for a decade with almost zero results. And that's not about politics. If it was me I'd rethink the whole thing. It would be a two-pronged approach - one speaking directly to parents, and the other, targeting businesses. To really help parents I'd design a website especially for them, with lots of actual tips and info (no word salad) on how to try different approaches to raise your kids, with animation and illustrations highlighting some of the science behind it, for example, how to build empathy with your kids. (Or something like that - actually it's hard to come up with a specific idea because I'm still not sure what point she is trying to make other than 'EY is important'). I do think she's only doing this because she's been told to step it up now that H&M have left, which is why it is so lacklustre. She would get a lot more engagement with parents that way. Perhaps look at how Sure start was successful and see if the ideas could be transferred to a website or app that could give parents similar support in a convenient way online.
I don't know what her aims are ultimately and whether it has really translated to the average person. This way she could be more effective, within her current royal limits.

I agree with your last post @michaelmacrae

I just think Kate is a bit lost with all of this EY stuff. She's been at it for nearly 10 years, and as a figurehead and publicity, yes she is doing a good thing. But are the public actually seeing anything tangible that helps those with young children?

I am not speaking from a position of having young children so I don't know. Maybe someone else does.

I was pleased to see that Kate employed a new Private Secretary a different type than all the other courtiers and aides and yes men. Someone who had worked at Virgin, high up in marketing, and with Jamie Oliver for years, she would be shaping Kate's role and maybe contributing to modernisation.
Well... she's left, or she didn't start in the first place. So it's back to the drawing board. I imagine a go getter like this woman realised that she would spend most of her time fighting against royal 'protocol' and the men in suits. I think that's 5 private secretaries in 5 years... I imagine it's an extremely boring job trying to change anything.

Totally agree on the website for parents... something simple and quantifiable. You can do as many photo ops as you like, and adverts in the cinema, but there needs to be something tangible.

I'm sure certain posters on here will take this as being nasty to Kate. I'm not. I speak as I see. I feel a bit sorry for Kate really. I just think her hands are tied with decades of royal protocol down to what colour nail varnish she's allowed to wear, so she can't even employ a go getter private secretary to reshape things. Her role is diminished by what the palace will let her do.