Private Eye on William

[ItsTheSeasonOfTheStick]

I found this quite entertaining

But is the palace behind that or are they just photos taken when they are out and about? What are they supposed to do, stay inside?

School holidays for them must total about 16 weeks of the year and they rarely, if ever, do any work during them

Personally I think we're being softened up for a 'barely any work when W takes over.' routine. The softening up started even before Kate's illness. There will be 2 lots of footage a year, filmed at their convenience, one autumnal, one spring like with the children frolicking in nature. Birthday pics of the children, and just the necessary attendances like Cenotaph, Trooping oftheC. And that will be IT.

Just my opinion.

Cancer, blah, blah, blah? Wow. A new low.

Well, many of them are actually official. But the ones that aren’t- of course they aren’t responsible for them. But they still contribute to the public perception of the monarchy. The “just like us” narrative is a powerful driver of Royalist thinking wherever it comes from.

Cancer comma blah blah blah. As in the blah blah blah is all the other excuses (unrelated) to cancer such as needing to be there for after school time. So no not a new low. I completely understand why she didn’t do anything when poorly and nor should she have done. Most other people would have been signed off sick.

However I do feel (that as far as we know) treatment is now over and she’s recovered? So why still so work shy?

Is Lambrook closed now for 2 weeks for half term?

I agree that it's a powerful driver of public perception. I'm just not sure that the royals have the degree of influence over how they are perceived as is sometimes suggested. Public narratives take on a life of their own and it is very hard for an individual to control a press or public narrative to any great degree.

This and once and for all decide if you are a private individual or a public individual and follow the rules of what is decided. Not picking and choosing when it suits.

Also, ensure the law applies to your family, like the rest of the country.

As an aside- there is a purpose to shooting stags. I don’t think it should be done for fun, but it is a legitimate necessity. Game birds are a completely different matter. Most of them aren’t even eaten.

I don't want the RF to be "just like us". I want them to enjoy their palaces, tiaras and privileges - that's what makes them stand out.
Just as I don't want a Prime Minister to be "just like us" - I want them to be highly educated, clever, maybe a bit elitist and hard working.

Why does everyone need to be the same? Difference is great.

I do wonder why the King is so happy for William and Katherine to do this very very part time schedule.

For the finances, the number of properties etc, to be fair to William, he can’t actually make concrete plans until he’s King. He doesn’t know who from his dad’s generation will have been given which house, who will have died, which houses will be being used for offices etc. it could be another decade or two and a lot can happen in that time. Saying now “I’ll sell off xxx property” might come back to bite him.

I do think it’s a sign they haven’t learned that they are assuming Charlotte and Louis will be working royals. We all know this will only be a PR bonus until the day George gets married and has a baby. Then they are the annoying hangers on that’s a problem for George. It’s not setting up a healthy dynamic amongst the kids either.

The ones shot on royal estates are eaten. On other estates not always but in this case the royals are at least eating what they shoot.

Agree, pre camera phones and pre social media they would have had some control, but Kate and the kids for example when they were photographed on a customer’s phone whilst shopping at The Range, wasn’t organised by the Palace, it’s just royals doing every day things that years ago would never have happened in the first place, let alone be photographed by the general public and published.

I do think it’s a sign they haven’t learned that they are assuming Charlotte and Louis will be working royals

If “sources” are correct William is considering parking their titles until they are of age to decide for themselves if they will be working royals or not, though by that time they may not be required if royal roles are drastically slimmed down anyway. If they do become working royals their spouses in my opinion should only receive an honorary title which ceases to exist once they are no longer representing the country or in the event of a divorce and no titles at all for any of their children, that would help the hangers on situation, being a royal should be a job not just a title.

I know this is heresy but maybe if HMTLQ and Princess Diana spent less time being seen and more time parenting, then circumstances might be very different for Andrew and Harry.

Gosh, really? They must eat practically nothing but game birds all year!

I don't think they are all eaten by the family but also distributed around the estate. I doubt we are talking thousands of birds.

William and Kate were being referred to as the Doolittles at least a decade before the cancer. If they had been more active previously people would have assumed something was up a lot earlier.

The late Queen in her 90s was regularly knocking out more engagements every year on top of the constitutional duties than the Wales together. Anne in her 70s still knocks most other royals into a tin hat.

The reality is than neither William nor Kate have ever done more than the bare minimum in terms of public engagements or active patronage (as opposed to letter head patronage). Remember when some of Kate's “favourite focus charities” shut their doors a couple of years down the line from receiving the patronage without her ever crossing the door or being involved? I’m fascinated to hear than Kate is now “focusing” on the arts including dance. What does she actually do for these causes? I remember Diana (a genuinely knowledgeable dance fan) putting a huge amount of time into dance charities and even Princess Margaret was an active supporter as opposed to a letterhead supporter.

I’m sure they will continue to spend the millions on PR - they are billionaires, its what billionaires do to manage their image. Its difficult to avoid how little they do compared to William’s grandparents, parents, Anne and the Edinburghs not to mention the now largely aged out generation who were also knocking up numerous PAs in their 80s and 90s.

Pity neither Andrew nor William had fathers isn’t it? Of course mothers, working or otherwise, are responsible for the behaviour of sons.

The royals spend millions on PR companies just like other businesses. Quite often they used those PR companies to attack each other but in the main its to promote the “they are just like us” storyline, the “so hard working” storyline and to gloss over the untaxed secret wealth.
Unlike most billionaires they really do exercise more influence over the press even now. How many editors and press owners turn down dinner at the palace?

What untaxed secret wealth?

Then it's a good thing that William is trying to spend time with his children.

Also, in "The Housekeeper's Diary", Charles apparently was an involved father.

*MrsLeonFarrell · Today 11:44

What untaxed secret wealth?*

Nobody knows. We have no insight into their off shore funds, investments and god knows what else...

I do wonder why the King is so happy for William and Katherine to do this very very part time schedule.

Well, it does depend on which version of the media spin you believe this week, doesn't it?

Feb 24: KC3 tells William to spend more time with his family
https://archive.is/NaxAZ

Sept 25: KC3 irritated by William's workload
https://archive.is/CC5y6

It's just possible that neither is true.

I was referring to the PP blaming the Queen and Diana for their sons’ behaviours whilst giving the fathers a free pass.

Whatever we “know” about William and Charles’ involvement with their children will be filtered through PR. It may be true, it may be fiction but what we see reported is what the palace wants reported.