The average age of the seven minor working royals is 76 - should younger members take on more

[Solent123]

Excluding the King, Queen and the Wales family there are seven other working members of the Royal family with a combined average age of 76, carrying out hundreds of engagements every year - for example the Duke of Kent is 89 and still carries out regular engagements - should younger members take on more or will all these engagements become unnecessary in the future as Charles streamlines things.

They are,
Duke Of Edinburgh - 68
Duchess Of Edinburgh 59
Duke Of Gloucester 80
Duchess Of Gloucester 78
Princess Royal 74
Duke Of Kent 89
Princess Alexandra 87

Even better when you've got a lackey researching your cheat notes...

Lackey

Bingo

I have had a job where I was occasionally required to turn up and represent Head Office. It was both simple and stressful - constantly having to perform.

So no, despite being driven everywhere and having a lackey produce cheat sheets - it does require effort.

I see King Charles made a train journey that cost over £50k - clearly he did not book in advance.

@Baital "I have had a job where I was occasionally required to turn up and represent Head Office"

Presumably that was not the main part of your job which you had been doing all your adult life? And presumably you weren't paid megabucks for doing it?

? Not sure how that's relevant.

Being 'on show', fully briefed, never putting a step wrong, is stressful.

It takes work.

Whether they do enough of this work is a separate issue. But I would say it counts as 'work', unlike a previous poster. Just as the representative aspects of e.g. an ambassadors job count as 'work'.

The worst bit for me was having to drink things that made me ill (cola/sprite etc) because it would have hurt feelings if I had declined. I assume the RF are able to specify those sorts of thing in advance.

It’s a bit of a mystery what those jobs are. They seem to be on holiday constantly . Eugenie lives in Portugal.
the ‘jobs’ are just meaningless titles. Zara makes money from horses somehow but does she still compete?

I thought one worked in an art gallery or something? Didn't even know Eugenie was in Portugal. Shows how much attention I pay.

Of course, the reality is they are set for life and not living week to week because they have to.

Why though? I don’t it’s a good idea to support adults with delusions about being a special breed. If I decide I’m a fairy will you come and watch me cut ribbons?

I never understood Princess Anne’s statement about who would cover all the engagements if there is a slimmed down monarchy because it seems obvious to me in that scenario that the number of engagements should be slimmed down too!

Speaking as a Republican, and to answer the original question, I think it is the end of an era and the monarchy should be wound down.

Republican countries like France have a system whereby state power is devolved downwards and the locally elected Mayor, who is accessible and accountable to their local community, is available to carry out local engagements such as being in attendance at ceremonies of remembrance or opening new hospitals, and that seems a pretty sensible way of going about things to me.

I also think the system of having an unelected family representing us is problematic at its core because as we have seen, some members are reasonably good at the job and others are just average or entirely unsuitable, eg Andrew.

But mainly, I think having a Royal family as opposed to an elected Head of State allows there to be far too much obfuscation between what is private wealth and private inheritance versus a transparent, accountable allowance or salary to carry out the role, which is subject to thorough scrutiny.

The King after eighteen months as monarch and many years in preparation for the role, has not made any attempt to slim down their excessive number of residences as far as I know.

And obviously, if you only have to house one elected Head of State and their spouse, and possibly their dc up to the age of adulthood, then they will only need one large flat in Whitehall somewhere and one country residence like Chequers where they can entertain foreign dignitaries.

There won’t be all of these family members and cousins living in vast estates and expensive London grace and favour flats.

If you take the example of the King’s youngest brother, Edward, and his wife Sophie, they live in a house worth £30 million pounds which seems to me wildly excessive and extravagant. Why do they need a house with 120 bedrooms to carry out their role? Their argument will presumably be that the estate was a “private” gift from QEII. But the upkeep is paid by the Sovereign Grant is it not? No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/this-is-how-much-the-british-royal-family-earns-heres-the-full-financial-breakdown/amp_articleshow/112994069.cms

https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-57559653.amp

I think you make a really good point. In 10 years, or maybe only 5, that list will look very different. What's the succession plan for them? Is there one? Or will they just stop attending all the events? What will be the consequences?
It could change very quickly in quite a short space of time

Hiw is Eugenie managing to live in Europe post-Brexit? Surely she doesn't have a second citizenship?

As a British citizen she can stay in Portugal for up to 90 days within 180 days. For extended stays, she would need to follow the specific immigration laws of Portugal and, I think apply for a residency permit, which usually requires proof of income, health insurance, employment, or property.

In other words, it’s always easier if you are rich with assets!

Yes of course. It sounded from above posts like she had settled permanently maybe she bought a Maltese passport but it looks like they are only there part time (and maybe not even there at all).

And I am sure the royals get weary of the car trips, being on show etc. I would hate it too. Still doesn't make it work in any sense other than busywork to give the impression they are usefully contributing to society. The ultimate bullshit job, in fact.

I can't find any info about the upkeep of Bagshot House - it would depend on the terms of the lease. According to reports one of the issues with Andrew's occupancy of Royal Lodge is he is supposed to be paying for maintenance, but isn't. So it is likely that Edward's lease on Bagshot is similar, and he does pay for the maintenance. Apparently (Wikipedia!) he paid for just under half the renovation costs before he moved in. He then paid £90,000 a year rent, subject to rent reviews linked to the retail price index.

It had been used as a base for army chaplains previously, but I am not sure it was particularly needed by the army - it seems more likely that it was a bit of a white elephant that the Crown Estate were happy to be used by anyone who would pay the upkeep.

So I am not sure it was a 'gift' of a house worth £30 million so.much as an asset in need of an occupier being matched with a family wanting a house - it's size possibly being a drawback.

There are plenty of arguments for republicanism, and for progressive taxation to reduce inherited inequalities. But as ever the outrage over 'they live in a big house' or (Camilla is a home wrecker/ Kate is bland / they should live up to ideals the rest of us don't) is just click bait that doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.

The RF's privileges are not the cause of inequality, they are a symptom.

I agree that losing your anonymity is a large price to pay but they do have vast estates where they can invite friends and socialise.

And imho, I think most of us could do a decent, professional job of visiting a charity, museum, or hospital opening if we had a secretary or two to make the arrangements and check out the venue in advance, had research and briefing notes supplied to us, were driven there and back, had clothes custom made for us and help with styling and dressing, someone to do our laundry, hair and makeup. Someone to look after our DC in our absence and collect them from school. Someone to do the food shopping, cook the food, clean the house and walk the dogs. And a protection officer in the background to sort things out if anything untoward happens unexpectedly, or a team back home to help if travel arrangements go wrong.

And to back all of that up we had time and space to exercise, can afford good organic food, and have access to the best of health care.

Going to work under the above conditions would be far less exhausting than usual tbh.

@TheForestCalls "Aren't the younger royals busy working regular jobs?"

Happy to be corrected- but I think the only one with a "job" is Zara Philips who earns insane amounts of money as a "brand ambassador" for Musto.....

One of my cousins is a diplomat. She has to attend functions as a representative of the UK. Yes, she has staff and they do a lot of the legwork. But turning up, wearing something appropriate and saying the right things counts as work.

It is an integral part of her job. So I assume it has some value, overall, as well as what she does in the office. In fact I get the impression that it is quite an important part of her job. I will ask her next time I see her.

@Baital
" But turning up, wearing something appropriate and saying the right things counts as work."

There is a slight difference between being involved in negotiations for peace in the Middle East and visiting the Keswick Pencil
museum....

What would be the loss to the nation if they didn't turn up and open a new sewage works in Thetford, compared to if diplomats didn't keep polite national relations with the Middle Eastern oil states?

It’s a bit like being kept in a lovely enclosure but essentially they are pedigree animals with no freedom or autonomy. A fate worth than death in my opinion.
Appearing in public with a permanent smile and faking being interested in people and projects for the cameras must erode your soul. Anyone who has had to support a spouse in a job which involves lots of public facing stuff will know how awful it is if it isn’t something you enjoy. They have to do it whether they are suited to it or not. No amount of coddling and cosseting compensates for having no free choice about how to spend your time and life energy.

bugger all.
they're ambassadors , a job that already exists where we don't give their descendants millions of pounds for generations to come

@Tealeavesinthecup " Anyone who has had to support a spouse in a job which involves lots of public facing stuff will know how awful it is if it isn’t something you enjoy. "It's their actual job for which they get extremely well paid. Which is different from "supporting a spouse" Very many people do "awful" jobs that are not well paid and take more than a couple of hours a week!

I think it is verging on child cruelty to bring kids up in the knowledge and expectation that that is what awaits them as adults. What if the heir to the throne is neurodivergent, or has a talent for nursing? Tough tit, off to Thetford with you. That sewage works won't open itself, you know.