Prince William's Absence (Part Two)

[MaggieFS]

Following on from this glorious thread

William just pulled out of event due to personal reasons http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/theroyall_family/5017144-william-just-pulled-out-of-event-due-to-personal-reasons

It’s sick leave isn’t it? I agree about their privilege. I just wonder if that’s it. They don’t want to make anything look ‘messy’ do they. Media blackout makes it seem more likely.

My DM used to have Tracy Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, come to a school where she worked to give talks. Can't think why. Anyway she came, gave her talks, very nice but then went.

Most royals especially the newer ones are a waste of time and money in my opinion nowadays.

Not that I wouldn't care because they were posh but no, I don't care about this privileged man, who has access to the best mental health care. Why should I? Of course it's a terrible way to die and I do have sympathy for his friends and family.

The 2 men I knew, they may or may not have accessed mental health care, they're moot points this really, I knew of them, but didn't know them that well but I know mental health care can be hard to access and mental health problems especially for men are hard to access/cope with. Both men I knew of, you wouldn't in a million years expect them to do what they did. But they did.

I think you have conveniently picked my comments without taking into account the comment I was replying to I'll try and reply again in simpler terms.
The RF are not under constant scrutiny , they all have multiple well protected homes that they spend most of their time in. Like Catherine is now.

I really hope Catherine makes a full recovery as a young woman and a mother to young children. But please spare us the just like us crap it's an insult to those who really are juggling.

Re memorial could be that Harry latest court case needed some input, leverage from William on behalf of Charles.

Last year I was signed off work for six weeks. I don't want to out myself by saying what the condition was but I would never have imagined it would take that long to recover. I almost fell off my chair when the consultant signed me off for six weeks but it took that long to be almost normal. Thank goodness I had empathetic colleagues who never questioned the length of time I was off nor did the parents of the children in my class, even though my absence negatively impacted the children I supported.

To be fair, they’re not getting it are they 😂 conspiracy theories galore! Shows how they’re not allowed any!

I don’t believe any of the nutty conspiracy theories around Catherine. I think she’s convalescing and that’s it.
But considering all the times William has used, or rather had photos taken of himself with his children, where are the Wales children?
That makes me worry a bit - you’d think just because Catherine is indisposed, William and their children would carry on in her absence

I don't think you need to worry, I'm sure they are carrying on. The children will no doubt be going to and from school entirely as normal. Isn't there a deal with the press, (official or unofficial?) that in return for being photographed at key moments (first day at school etc.) they aren't followed by paps on a day to day basis?

I'm the Prince of Wales, I can do what I want.
I'm the Princess of Wales, I can do what I want
I'm King Charles I'm afraid to tell any of them they cannot do what they want.
I'm Andrew and I am BAAAACKK, because the rest of them can do what they want.

That just shows how badly the whole thing is being handled. All this speculation is because of William's actions which led to Andrews actions which must be concerning all but the most blinkered royalist.

That wasn't what the post I was replying to was talking about. Obviously it is great not to have financial worries but implying that everyone with cancer or mental health issues just works through it is simply not true. It is also ignoring the fact that Charles is well past retirement age so comparing him with someone of working age with cancer is also comparing apples with oranges. I'm a retired HR manager and I've known many people be off work with those conditions, I remember one poor man who was off for 2 years after gruelling cancer treatment and was only able to work part time when he returned.

My husband was unable to work in his 40s due to an incident at work, he was medically retired but it took years for us to get the financial support he was entitled to so I know about financial insecurity, at the time I had 4 kids and the youngest was ten days old when we got the news, overnight I was mum, carer, breadwinner.

I was talking more generally too. I provide care for people who have been off work for years with health issues of different kinds. The lucky ones have someone to carry them over this time.

FWIW, I don't think K&W are lazy but they could do more. Can't remember if it was this thread or a previous one but I said I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they will hugely step up as the kids get older and Charles and Anne do less.

I also think it's a good thing that they didn't become FT working royals in their twenties, that they do actually know what it's like to go out and do the grocery shopping (even if it was Waitrose!), that they do drive their kids to weekend activities and so on.

The whole concept of royalty is bloody weird, that because someone
is descended from someone who was the best warrior, they have this position of privilege. BUT actually, it doesn't really affect my day to day life. It costs me individually very little by way of tax and it brings in a LOT of money to the economy via tourism.

I also wouldn't to swap my life for their luxury because for the goldfish bowl they live in.

So we agree that the idea that "ordinary" people just carry on regardless is factually incorrect.

The late Queen had been doing that since the 1940s (some following family pattern from earlier; extension until after anniversary of her father's death added early 50s. And then she just caried on Queen-ing, and it was part of her familiar, stable routine (she did still do governmental business - the boxes and some audiences continued wherever she was)

No one would invent it quite like that now. Long summer recess (like parliament) is probably on the cards for the monarch. Term-time only working for those with DC below secondary school age.

I think they are playing it well , it’s like the fuss about Harry’s various books , they know that the best way to deal with it is not to feed the fire. Give out one piece of information then they will want more and more . Keep quiet and in a couple of months when Catherine is being seen in public again then it will be forgotten and the mob will have moved onto something/someone else .

By way @Iwantmyoldnameback I never said I thought they were ordinary I just think it’s odd that so many posters keep going on about how the Queen never had time off when she had this much time off every year . No one ever thought it odd then or even worth remarking on.

I guess it depends how badly they are affected. Most people want to carry on as normal as much as they can. In many instances, it's good for them to hold onto as much of themselves as they can. Some can, some can't.

I don't think you can compare ordinary people to the royal family though. Of course they can run into conditions where they can't work, or have to seriously cut back. But they won't face many of the material challenges of ordinary people either.

I never said the Queen didn't have time off and I am unimpressed she lived in a different country to her young children but times were very different pre Diana.
I think the Queen actually ruled the family too strictly and now they don't know how to act.

I agree with you. I think K and W have a nice balance between duty and family. The real question for the future is what kind of lives their dcs can have. It's already been said they may not expect the dcs to go into the military. However William's time in the search and rescue and the air ambulance definitely provided him with important life experience.
More importantly the problems with H have surely shown it's vital the spares have meaningful lives away from the Crown. They will likely grow up to be attractive adults. I imagine the media coverage will be hell.

When is Willams's next official engagement, please?

Yep, @JSMill the track record for the spares is pretty dire - Harry, Andrew & Edward (albeit a late bloomer) and Margaret.

If William and Kate want to run things very differently, thats fine. But it has to include a change in the money handed over to them and the privileges we give them too. He can't just do less, much less than elderly members and keep the exact same perks and money- well these days it is significantly more money with what seems like a lot less workers and a lot less effort by the younger ones and heir.

We never know in advance. I doubt there is one to be honest

Well said. And due to rise steeply in I believe 2025 or 2026

Brilliant summary
KC is not a natural leader, in my humble opinion, and they are all now jostling for their new power positions
Andrew can’t believe his good luck
The memorial was the first example of the new RF instability