Private Eye on William

[ItsTheSeasonOfTheStick]

I found this quite entertaining

I think they've got the 5 years max, 10 if lucky mindset.

I mean, if Charles were expected to live more than about five years they wouldn't be doing all this when William takes over stuff. That's coming from the RF themselves, so we're being prepared already!

That's exactly how he comes across.

Fair play to them wanting to provide a good family life for their children, but you don't get to do that whilst heir to the throne with all its benefits.

Those are not things that they would pare back on. They’re the kind of glitz and glamour events they love! It’s the smaller, more niche creative causes that will be long forgotten.

I'm fine with them being cut completely, which will give them lots of time to have lovely lives.

Surely the whole idea of monarchy, though, is that there's a strict, set order.

It isn't equal opportunities - if it were, you or I could be in with a shot at getting it if we were judged/voted suitable!

If it lands on you and you don't want it, you're free to abdicate; but then it still has to follow the strict order after that.

That's always their way, isn't it? However much good they may want to do (or make out that they're doing), they will always, always put themselves first by a very long chalk.

William makes a lot of encouraging-sounding noises about caring about homeless people, but would he be willing to allow a palace to be converted to a hostel; or would he even be willing to live in a (still very nice and big) ordinary-style house, to free up and enormous amount of money and land so that many others could also have a modest roof over their heads?

I always take a very dim view of people who have far more riches than they and their family could ever possibly hope to need or even want to spend in 500 years... yet they'd still rather keep all of the huge excess in their own possession, rather than remotely consider giving it (and never even noticing it gone) to help those who have nothing.

I see nothing wrong in picking targeted charities. For all you know, one of the Wales children. Could focus on animals. Catherine is certainly emphasizing nature.

You've got loads of wealthy people in the country. Why can't some multimillionaire step up? Exploit those wealthy Americans moving into the Cotswolds.

I dont think its a bad thing to set an example of a good family life for the children, after the years of royal children being parked with nannies and far away boarding schools and parents going on tour for months at a time.

People seem to want fewer working royals, so the remaining ones are going to be spread thin. One would hardly argue for a monarch who neglected his children in favour of turning up to events and diplomatic tours.

What is the point of having a family if you are not around much, just to produce an heir? He wants his children to be well adjusted to cope with the future path that is laid out before them. That's not a bad thing.

I don't really care about the royals at all and there are plenty of things to criticise them for, but he wouldn't be much use as a "leader" of sorts if he didn't set out his boundaries and stick to them. And making his children, who will have to succeed him in "the Firm" , a priority is not a bad boundary to set.

It did strike me when William was recently interviewed by Eugene Levy that as a family the Cambridges try to be home for when their children finish school. I would love that too but I have a job! They can’t be working very hard if they are home and available for their kids at 3.30 / 4 pm every day.

I wonder how much appetite the public still have for funding this level of privilege. And don’t get me started on the Crown apparently owning all of the seabed and therefore able to profit from wind energy revenues. Those resources should be fully public and solely for the benefit of the British people. No family should be allowed to own the entire seabed. I would respect William more if he showed any interest in changing that.

It's interesting that with all the emerging details in the press about Andrew that Private Eye chose to focus on William. I would have thought that accountability for him is more pressing than speculating about what William might do when he becomes King.

You can’t have it both ways though. You can’t want all the money, fame and luxury, without working.

“Certainly emphasising nature”? What does that mean? That she likes dicking about in the woods with her fancy camera?

So he’s not going to be doing all the things Monarchists keep telling me are important-like the gongs and pats on the back and visits and ribbon cutting pour encourager les bourgeoisie?

Nope. He can’t be arsed with all that, he wants to be clocked off by the time the kids get home from school. Only time he’ll be arsed to show is face is at the footy.

Kate might put her camera down to pop over to Wimbledon but that’s about it.

William and Kate are "working" royals. They can't take on the load of all the royals that have been taken off the pay roll.

But as I said. I'm not a royalist and don't care what they do or don't do, so I won't keep arguing their case.

I only wanted to say that carving out more time to spend with their children than previous royal parents, when their children are going to take over from them and are already attending royal events with W and K etc.. isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Maybe it's just me, but I personally feel much less inclined to give to charities with a royal warrant - or indeed any that are endorsed by phenomenally rich celebrities - as I assume that they will already have a massively high profile (and thus financial support); and, if the patronage actually means anything, their supremely rich patrons can fund them themselves.

I presume that being a patron doesn't just mean talking about how much you endirse the work of a charity without ever actually giving them any of your vast stores of money?!

Only time he’ll be arsed to show is face is at the footy.
Kate might put her camera down to pop over to Wimbledon but that’s about it

OK, you don’t approve, but that’s the sort of nonsense I’d expect from a not particularly intelligent teenager.

Quite, @Serenster

Presumably they also failed to note the considerable amount the Royal Foundation currently does for wildlife (including the fight against wildlife trafficking), in suggesting that 'animals' would also be off the table.

They must also have missed the recent formal invitation to Australia for 2026, when the Australian Prime Minister met the King and Prince of Wales in Balmoral.

If the RF is to be pared down, well it seems to me that W and family have arranged that since they will refuse to do much of the grunt work anymore, they'll manage fine with just W+K and that's how it should be. Don't see many other HsOS with a big family entourage, all suitably recompensed from the public purse.

W's role is HOS, presumably receiving Ambassadors, opening Parliament, approving legislation, bestowing honours, reading the Red box every day, meeting the Prime Minister every week and representing us at home and abroad.

Is there anything I've forgotten, and if not, well that can all be done by W+K if they ditch all the ribbon cutting stuff from the agenda in future.

So what have the RF actually achieved in this area?

This is all just speculation though regarding details and the fact that William wants to keep all the money and do less work.

Hopefully he will make the finances more transparent and take a lot less from the public purse.

But as always depending on our views we are expecting/hoping for different things from William.

@CurlewKate

Royal Foundation report for 2024

The part I found particularly interesting was the initiative to make affordable life insurance available to wildlife rangers in Africa.

The point is that if you have a monarch as your head of state you need them to actually get out and see the state they're heading up - Royal engagements like ribbon cutting were about that really.

Yes, I am aware of the work of the Foundation. What I don’t understand is why the whole panoply of the Monachy is necessary to facilitate the repatriation of 1000 lemurs to Madagascar and the restoration of 33 houses to acomodate homeless families in Sheffield.

Not according to the article in the Daily Beast if sources are to be believed.

A source said William’s own children may have their titles informally “parked” until they become adults and can decide for themselves if they want to be full-time working royals or lead lives as private citizens. The source said they are never addressed as “prince” or “princess” by their parents, teachers, staff, or family