I already wrote about Prince William and Duchess Kate’s first dual appearance of the year today – go here to read. This event in Wales today was only William’s second event of the year. The excuse being used for William’s lack of royal work is his job as an air ambulance pilot, but there are rumblings that William actually doesn’t work that much as a pilot after all. And if he’s not really putting his nose to the grindstone as a pilot, and he’s rarely engaged in royal work, what the hell does he do all day? Thankfully, The Sun has a mega-exclusive story full of quotes from “unnamed sources” in which the hammer is brought down on William in a BIG way, including this statement: “Many people, including his own friends, are starting to question whether William really wants to be royal at all.” OUCH. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
A source says William does nothing: “No one really wants to admit it openly, but it was the talk of Sandringham over Christmas that he does nothing. He wanted to move to Norfolk to give him the life of the gentleman country farmer, like his friends. Everything has been set up — his pilot job, his duties, his home — so he can do this. Shooting, fishing, house parties at weekends and a very private life with his family away from the cameras are the order of the day. All his friends live this country lifestyle and so, now, does he.”
William controls images of Kate? “His disdain for the media is well-known and the only images of his two children — and increasingly his wife — are carefully controlled by the Palace spin machine.”
Where was William for the BAFTAs? “Unconfirmed reports suggest he was spending the weekend with in-laws Michael and Carole Middleton in Bucklebury, Berks. But while the Palace is thought to have hastily denied the claim, there remains little doubt about William’s desperation to shun the role he was born to do.”
His job as an air ambulance pilot: “William’s supporters point out his engagements are down as he was busy with a new job last summer with East Anglian Air Ambulance. And he’s ‘packing in the shifts’ so everything else has to fit in.” But a source grumbled to The Sun: “He’s hardly ever on shift. He was very enthusiastic to begin with but it tailed off. It’s supposed to be four on, four off but with the Duke it’s more off than on. He had at least four weeks off over Christmas, which has to be staffed the same as normal weeks. It’s fine that he gets a bit of special treatment but it’s beginning to really annoy some people. The rumour is that he’s just a bit bored of it. I think he would have loved to stay in the RAF, being a search and rescue pilot, but that branch’s privatisation put the kibosh on that.”
How William has changed: “He’s changed since he’s had kids. He’s much more forceful and less easy-going. I’ve heard he can be quite petulant and demanding with his staff. Ultimately he says he wants to lead a normal life but that would involve giving up being a royal. And he would never do that.”
I would LOVE to know where William was last Sunday for the BAFTAs. I would love to know where he was on Saturday, for the Kensington Palace-hosted dinner for the nominees too, because he was in the wind for that as well. The Sun’s story includes a lot of details that we already knew, like William LOVES to hunt, but he also loves to tell people that they shouldn’t hunt. He loves to have the perks of royalty but none of the responsibility. While this Sun story is nothing we haven’t heard before, it’s still interesting to me that some members of the press are increasingly unafraid to call out William for his petty tyrant act and work-shy attitude. Please, more of this.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
The tide is turning.
He deserves it.
I’ve got my popcorn and a variety of wine
Melly can we be friends please? You sound fun.
Me too! Also, let’s pool together for an English estate to live as country gentry. It sounds like a lovely life.
All are welcomed! Just make sure to bring your gentleman farmer lover with you.
Agreed. And truly – if he wanted to live the life of an “English country gentleman” he could do so. He could renounce his place in line if he wanted to do so. I’m sure he has enough money from Diana’s trust without a royal stipend, and there would still be royal funds to care for George and Charlotte as they would still be in line. I don’t think he could renounce for them, could he? If he doesn’t want to do it, then he should just stop. Walk away. Given the Windsor gene pool, it is likely that Charles will live to a ripe old age and that George wouldn’t be thrown into the role of King before he was ready.
He could renounce for them. Royalty in various nations, including Britain, have done it in the past. He could also, conceivably, renounce in favor of George. But it would be a major headache for the government, and the Royal Family would completely shun him and cut him off. Doubtful he’d want that, for a variety of reasons.
He doesn’t appear to want much to do with the BRF, other than taking all the perks he can get. He prefers the Middletons. Best he take them all out of line and move somewhere like Germany or Switzerland with strong privacy-in-public laws.
Coming from a country where our living treasures are being hunted in the most inhumane ways for their ridiculous cure for impotence, I find this ‘man’ more and more loathsome. And his hypocrisy knows no bounds. He should abdicate and give the throne to Harry and a far more deserving AND real man who walks his talk!!!
What a horrible dullard. Long live Harry!
#KingGinger
I like the way you think, the cooking pan. I love Harry and he would do a great job. #goodkinghenryix
Sorry to burst the ginger bubble but Harry hunts too, every bit as much as his brother and all their chums.
#KingLiam
Now THIS is white privilege.
They remind me of Kanye
Completely out of touch with reality
“a gentleman farmer” — lord have mercy…
Right? So, do any of them actually work? Or just… gentlemanly farm?
They have estate managers(rarely credited).
+1 And Willy’s gig is way better than being a 1%er. Wm got Obama to meet with him about his Tusk Trust. How many people can get an audience with the U.S. president to talk about their charitable foundation? Willy is in the category of ,001% white privilege.
And instead of talking wildlife conservation, William blabbed on and on about baby genders.
I had forgotten about that.
Yeah, but Obama gave him the stink eye the whole press conference, and rightly so. William acted like a nervous intern and looked completely out of his depth, which of course he was.
This is probably totally off base and paranoid… but I sort of get the feeling the William sort of pushed Kate into more official obligations so that he wouldn’t have to. I get the feeling that it was made clear to him that he couldn’t keep them all out of it and he sort of thrust Kate out there to buy himself some more time.
Unlikely, Kate gets just as much shade for doing nothing as he does, in fact she gets it more and he has his ‘little’ hobby job to keep him occupied.
Agreed. Though still laughable in that it’s not like she does much either. The added trip to Bhutan is a visible other vacation. Bhutan doesn’t even have diplomatic relations with Britain(!!) Just a trendy tourist spot.
I’ve always assumed the opposite. My suspicion is that William doesn’t like being overshadowed by the missus. Not that I think that Kate is particularly motivated to work, but I think she would hustle if William or Carole asked her to.
I agree I think Kate would hustle and do a lot more with her role if that was William’s way. But it’s not and she takes her cues from him.
After The Queen kicks it, the British public is going to start to feel less for the royals. This new generation is as apathetic as William is.
oh.
Astonishing.
Nothing new here. I wonder what was told to his “co-workers” why he had extra time off.
Four bloody weeks. I had to fight for four days.
I wish we knew for sure, he had really 4 weeks off and it is only February. They go on a tour, there will be Christmas again:-)
I truly wonder why it is worth to employ him in the 1st place, or it is again a workplace created only for him?
I am saddened how William turned out to be. Where is Diana in him? Nowhere not even close. We need Harry, I have never thought he would be the ONE.
In fairness, the standard Xmas break for office-based Brits is the best part of two weeks. You get Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day as public holidays and many firms make employees use 3 of their annual vacation days for the 3 working days in between. So people finish on Christmas Eve and don’t go back until the first working day in the New Year.
Mind you: NOT the case for frontline roles such as air ambulance pilot!
@ Anett
Apparently and allegedly, his EAAA salary was donated to cover his salary (the organization is charity-based) and the large copter with the extra seat which he and his RPO uses was granted to the EAAA at about the time it was known he’d go to work for them. Coincidence? This is the only copter he uses when he’s ‘working’ there.
The US doesn’t do Boxing Day, Sixer. I used to that as well . . . I’d leave on the 23rd and be back after New Year’s. But that’s not 3-4 weeks and I didn’t work a job that needed to be staffed 24/7 365 days.
But I know; I’m preaching to the choir!
I also wonder: wouldn’t his absence force some of his colleagues to work extra shifts?
.
Timbuktu, I suspect his “job” isn’t anywhere near regular. They have all the shifts mostly covered without him, and when he decides to work, someone gets bumped.
Also explains why Kate was everywhere before xmas, she was the diversion away from him. Stopping the prying eyes of the press finding out where her husband was and what he was doing with whom.
Rumour has it that her headline grabbing engagement with the Hedgefund ladies – in that multi-floral, coloured, mess of a dress with Pompadour hair, was a distraction whilst he attended a quiet dinner with Jecca supposedly for the Tusk trust.
LAK, I think that rumor was proven true. I’m sure I read a small release about TT having a fundraiser the same night but it was a private event.
Ooh, more details, please. I mean it’s The Sun, but still.
The Sun is Murdoch press. I’m not sure they aren’t still upto old tricks of phone hacking and or bribing people to gain information.
If the phone hacking trial taught m anything, it’s that tabloids aren’t so easily dismissed because they are getting their information from very close to the target, if not actual target themselves.
And William has pissed off many people, including staff at royal residences – unhappy staff -> loose lipped staff!!
Yes – case in point Jude Law. During the trail he found out that a close family member was selling stories about him to the press.
Ken Wharfe said the same thing – he’s pissing his staff off and he can’t keep them. TQ on the other hand has very loyal staff because she treats them well.
Can’t someone camp out near his job and see when he comes to work? I mean a reporter, not some creepy stalker person!
It is the Sun, but Emily Andrews is a hardworking royal beat reporter. She has tweeted that she got scoops from people close to William but of course off the record because they are scared.
I think she’s pretty brave. She’s out there on the royal beat and visible.
“Gentleman farmer”…… is that… is that really still a… thing?
I think I’ve kind of given up on Will. Maybe he’ll turn it around as he ages, maybe not, but for now… he’s just kind of obnoxious, and that’s the only really entertainment value he brings.
I worry about Harry, though, you know? He always comes out looking so much better, it’s like they’re just setting him up for some great fall- scandal or otherwise.
He’s turning 34. At this age, he’s supposed to have already put on his Big Person socks.
“Gentleman farmer”…… is that… is that really still a… thing?
It sure is if you’re a George Washington re enactor! Or Prince William. Either way, living like an 18th century potentate works for them.
Gentleman farmer gig has been going since the patricians of the roman republic days. Cicero used to use the perfect rustic pose for his political campaigning. Reminding everyone that he was a true born and well bred real roman. The original guiding fathers of rome were farmers with pure hearts don’t ya know.
Well, it’s in The Sun so it must be true.
Its pretty obvious he’s rebelling against being ‘made’ to do engagements as thats whats been happening. The press have been shading them about their lack of duty and work ethic for a while and it was only a matter of time before he chucked his toys outta the pram. Interesting that he spent the weekend after that funeral, which was an official engagement as it was in the Court Circular, at Middleton Manor – that also tells us that Kate spends more time there with the kids than at Amner, the home that he was given for free where the taxpayer coughed up millions to renovate it.
Also the tidbits about he’s changed since having kids is telling as well, if he’s become even more arsey with people than his normal means there’s trouble. I firmly believe he’ll come a cropper and force the issue about him continuing to be a public royal with the perks or become a private royal with reduced perks i.e. no more taxpayer funded lifestyle.
Come on press, let loose and show us the receipts.
Twitter has the best receipts. Fans and sugar press say this; Twitter sightings say that.
I keep hearing about these Twitter sightings, but I’m a bit unclear about how/where to follow them. Is it just a matter of keeping track of #KateMiddleton tags on Twitter?
Emily: Yes. Not just Kate, but all the royals. It’s amazing what shows up in the twitter universe, pictures and comments confirming encounters.
These days, it’s a toss up between paps and the public stalking/reporting on the royals and their efforts ending up in the mainstream media with the official journalist byline (within the dictats of what they are allowed to say publicly)
Also, the royal reporters/paps have discussions amongst themselves or with the public on twitter that they do not repeat in their columns. it can be very illuminating.
I’m curious as to why Kate gets a pass for wearing D&G. It was less than a year ago when they made those asshat comments on gay marriage, adoption, ivf, etc and a celebrity boycott ensued. Yet Kate goes on choosing D&G for public appearances. Why would no media take note of this?
She wears D & G because she has zero brain and no integrity. Other more informed and savy celebs boycotted the brand.
The worm of the British press is finally turning. Hooray!
William is going to meet reality and he will, in the end, have to choose. Bring on the day, say I.
I don’t think he will have a choice, it will be made for him. He’ll do something to embarrass the family and the country, a scandal with state secrets maybe – but he will forced to walk away as he’ll try and have his cake and eat it too as much as he can.
But ITA with your sentiment – these 2 are turning me into a Republican.
The scandal that will be the catalyst will be getting busted for showing claroil middleton the contents of the Red Box from Parliament. BOOM
Tell you what, me, you barricades, revolution (everybody else is free to join in of course – there will be cake since our grey, grumpy little Island seems to specialise in cake…)
Yay! Betti is becoming a republican!
Reality will bite Normal Bill in the arse whether he likes it or not – and the sooner that day comes, the better, so far as I am concerned.
Frisbee: have barricades. Will travel.
It would be lovely but I doubt it will happen. Brits to seem to be ok with this. Otherwise things would’ve changed a long time ago.
Tess: we ARE Brits!
Tessd: you misunderstand. We brits are OK with royalty though we grumble about it all the time, BUT we chuck out reluctant, entitled Princelings all the time. See Charles 1, James 2, Duke of Windsor to name recent ones.
And the ones we don’t chuck out are brought in line – see every single Princeling since John was forced to sign the Magna Carter.
LAK – I call it democracy through attrition!
Sixer: Definitely!!! 🙂
My favourite is the Glorious Revolution. Always painted as anti-Catholic but really, it was much more to do with a Stuart trying to get divine right back, and the polity chucking him out and importing a German managerial pragmatist!
Both Charles I and his son James II stubbornly refused to understand the meaning of the word “compromise” – probably because they were too enamoured of the idea of an absolute monarchy à la France.
@Lak and others – but ladies, those are really old and dusty examples. The royals have been living the Life on your dime for centuries. And what is going to happen to Prince William to get him in line? Nothing. He continues to do (or not do) what he wants AND live off of taxes (let’s not talk about Charles paying for stuff – his income is not coming from anything he actually does, like other hard working millionaires).
I love the Great Britain but I will never understand their devotion to these leeches.
Tessd: our specific examples are old, but if you study English history, you’ll see that the monarchy has been brought into line, time and time and again.
Why we remain devoted to a monarchy is a different conversation, but in terms of how that monarchy operates, the public is in control. A fact the royal family has to be reminded from time to time.
Recent examples, Queen taking the train from time to time. Not as cute as the PR will have you believe. She started taking the train as a bid to save money on the travel budget because the Parliament of the 90s refused to pony up extra cash and forced her to budget.
Ditto taking away her toys like the yacht and the train.
Same parliament forced her to open up the palaces and to start paying tax as risible as that arrangement is.
The most recent reluctant Princeling we chucked out was only 80yrs ago and I bet he thought it couldn’t happen since it had not happened for centuries, not since the Glorious revolution. Or that he had a divine right to rule OR the people were too enthralled to the system to ever chuck him out. It’s the same story of every Princeling that’s been chucked out in every monarchy across the world.
The Queen came very close to the edge at Diana’s funeral and that ugly week. She capitulated.
If WK continue on this trajectory, history will repeat itself, as it always does.
And given that in the modern age, everyone agrees that monarchy is anachronistic, reminding WK of what they owe the taxpayer might end up with their exit, even if the system remains.
What LAK said.
Also, much as it pains me to point it out, as a die-hard republican, the cost is negligible. Even taking Republic’s costings, which are as high as possible, the BRF costs less than 0.01% of the national budget.
You guys are really making me want to dust off my pitchfork!
I don’t even care about this reincarnation of Prince Edward. If he wants out, let him out. I’m more interested in seeing Charles’ stint on the throne, however short it may be. He’s the ‘secret’ (it’s not a secret!) environmentalist, and I do believe his other son takes after him.
English peerage system, U.S. gun culture and Catholic Church are very different institutions but they have something in common. All 3 have done horrible damage to adherants and the public at large. And they’re all still here!
I like this thought.
I beg to differ regarding U.S. gun culture, as you put it. Had I not had access to a 9 mm pistol, I wouldn’t be here. I would have been beaten to death by my foot-and-a-half-taller, 100 pound heavier, ex-fiance. I didn’t shoot him because pointing the gun at him was enough since he knew that I knew how to use the gun. I’m very thankful for guns, when used properly.
+ 1,000
My mom shot a man in her uncle’s house who had escaped from a nearby prison. I might not be here if it weren’t for a gun.
History tends to repeat itself.
His great-great grandfather was the reliable 2nd son (of King Edward VII) and brother of 1st son, the cad Eddie (who unexpectedly died and George, the dependable one, filled in and actually married his late brother’s fiancée). He became King George V.
George V’s eldest son, notorious playboy David, saw the monarchy as a silly concept (refererred to his job as “Princing”) and actually abdicated his throne, leaving his reliable brother, 2nd son Bertie (William’s great grandfather), to become King George VI.
Maybe there’s something to be said for the 2nd son sometimes being better equipped for the top job. Perhaps being raised as next-in-line is just too warping for some.
I thought David was forced to out because of the problem with Mrs. Simpson.
That was the public reason but he was a very open Nazi supporter even after the war and the horrors of the holocaust were revealed. Plus there were rumours that he was passing war/state secrets onto the Nazis, something that he’d allegedly been doing since he was PoW and had access to the same intelligence reports etc.. that the King did.
Any evidence of Edwards treason was destroyed by Churchill. There is evidence that he had MI5 records relating to the RF destroyed.
There were also his extremely unfortunate political sympathies. Those have, however, only recently come to light with the opening of the FBI archives. It was no coincidence that he and Wallis “coincidentally” always ended up fraternising with various varieties of fascists in Spain and Portugal before they were shipped off to the Bahamas. Churchill had to threaten him with a court-martial to get him away from Continental Europe and hide him in an obscure corner of the Commonwealth.
She was just one of many reasons he wasn’t going to make a good king.
Both Edward VIII (David) and Wallis Simpson were known Nazi sympathizers who actually traveled to Germany on several occasions to meet with Hitler and his top brass. Wallis was known to have had an affair with Von Ribbentrop, Germany’s Foreign Minister at the time. It was David’s suggestion to Hitler that sustained bombing of London would result in England’s capitulation. Hitler knew full well that David was the “weak link” in the royal chain and could be manipulated into opening the way for Germany to win the war, with the ultimate enticement of installing David as a figurehead “King”. That’s why he and Wallis were whisked out of Europe and sent packing to govern the Bahamas – keep them in a faraway backwater with a token title where they couldn’t do any more damage. That Wallis was a twice-divorced man-eater certainly figured into the equation but it was actually the perfect way for Churchill and Baldwin to get David to abdicate – forbid him to marry her on the grounds that the Church of England forbade marriage to a divorcee. Can you imagine what England and Europe would look like today if he’d remained on the throne? *Shudders*
@ Jaded. The rumours of Wallis having an affair with Von Ribbentrop haven’t been proved, in fact didn’t the recent documents in the CIA archives prove it wasn’t? Its been suggested as a rumour started by MI5 to divert away from Edwards (aka David) treason and to blacken her name. History has painted a very harsh picture of Wallis, part of which is to protect David who by all accounts was a complete twat. William is very like him personality wise. There are a few biographies of there of him and they don’t paint a good picture of the petulant playboy who liked married women. Its been suggested that Wallis didn’t even want to marry him but was backed into a corner with the abdication which she was dead against.
Oh yeah, now that you mention it I do remember reading about his thing for Nazi’s. But shhhhh, let’s not ever mention that again.
Wallis wanted to stay married to her second husband whilst being Edward’s mistress. Understandably, neither man were content with such an arragement. This is from her letters on the subject. She didn’t want him to abdicate either because she, rightly, feared that she would be blamed for it. Her letters reveal as much.
@Betti – I had a boss who took the demonization of Wallis very personally. She was really annoyed by the fact that Wallis got smeared when she doesn’t seem to have been bad at all.
@Betsy. Wallis wasn’t completely innocent, she made a determined effort to become Davids mistress by ousting the previous one (and her friend) Lady Furness. She’d was also know for having affairs during both marriages. I can see why your boss reacted that way – it was unfair for her to get all the blame. David was looking for an excuse to walk away and the gov was looking for an excuse to get rid of him – Wallis was the convenient scapegoat. David was a man obsessed, he was by all accounts madly in love with her.
Below is a link to a YT video (audio only) of an interview with Wallis and David in the 70s. Its fascinating and Wallis is def someone I would have liked to have had a glass of wine with. David not so much – he came across as a bit of a twit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8u7Ntic5fo
Long before he met Wallis Simpson, he was known as a lazy, entitled, spoiled-rotten man-child who loved the perks of being royal but shied away from the responsibilities. And when I say “known”, I mean known only to the inner circle of the royal family – to the general public, he was the glamourous, handsome, modern heir to the throne.
I can’t remember which book I read it in, but I’ve read that Wallis never intended her situation with David to turn out like it did. That she was happy being the woman in his life and having access to all he access to, but she was a little taken aback when he insisted on abdicating for her. And that she had a bit of buyer’s remorse when she was then stuck with him. Google Jimmy Donahue if you want to find out one way she dealt with her ennui!
@Betti – history hasn’t painted a black picture of the Duke and Duchess, they did a pretty darn good job of it themselves. Their attraction to Hitler and the Third Reich was blatantly obvious and they allowed themselves to be courted into a role as German sympathizers, to the point where they provided Hitler with secret wartime information, out of spite for the BRF and David’s fervent wish to be back on the throne. As far as Wallis’s alleged affair with Von Ribbentrop, the CIA documents don’t confirm or deny, and her good friend Mary Raffray insisted the affair was real. Wallis’s whole raison d’etre was to claw her way into a position of money and power and she would stop at nothing to do so – even snatch David away from her good friend Thelma Furness, so I completely believe the Ribbentrop rumours.
In the end she may have claimed the prize but their marriage was loveless, she was cruel to David who continued to worship her, and the saying “be careful what you wish for” comes to mind. She made a Faustian pact with the devil and paid for it.
There was a documentary on PBS a while ago (and I think it’s on youtube, about Mrs. Simpson’s letter especially to Mr. Simpson and how she was going to leave Edward VIII but he out maneuvered her by announcing his abdication before she could send the letter.
But what does it matter? Edward (or David, whatever you call him) after abdication spent his life with Mrs.Simpson in luxury. Flying around the world, living like royalty without the burden of being a King.
Not necessarily. While Bertie was alive, he plagued for some sterlings(when he had his own stash). The reason they turned to the pen was a lack of funds. David had enough to live comfortably but they crazy spenders e.g. her jewels.
David minded very much.
Also, the level of luxury/access enjoyed as a mere Duke and especially as an Ex-King/heir is nothing compared to BEING King/heir.
David and Wallis had to sing for their supper. Couldn’t hang with the old crowd and could only hang out with cafe society with no way to work to support themselves and living rudderlessly.
And cut off from all the top notch access to real power and money.
Their celebrated homes were rentals from star struck sycophants and even though David had gouged money from his brother as he was exiled, it never quite covered their lavish expenditure. They had to rely on the generosity of friends.
Wallis spoke of the burden of keeping up the illusion for David that he was still as important as ever
They kind of turn into rent-a-royals.
As others have said they lived a lavish lifestyle and off the generosity of friends and star struck sycophants. I can def see W&K going down the route of rent-a-royal in the event they get kicked out of the succession. Ma Middleton could be their agent, taking bookings. I can see them now on TV shilling marshmallows with their mugs on them.
If he didn’t mind, he wouldn’t have been as stuck as he was about getting her officially styled HRH.
It’s interesting how much the Queen Mother was involved in all the antagonism against him as well.
@Bluehare – The QM hated Wallis partly because of what happened (& the effect that being King had on Bertie’s health) and partly because she felt that Wallis came between the brothers. The QM adored David and was said to have been fond of Lady Furness, his previous long term mistress.
Bertie, as well as being a life long heavy smoker, struggled in dealing with stress and the pressures that came with being King during wartime. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer and suffered from other health issues relating to smoking (hardened arteries etc..). What killed him was a blood clot inside a blood vessel in the heart. He started smoking as a way to help with his stuttering but continued to smoke heavily as a way to deal with the stress of Kingship. The QM never forgave the Windsors for what she felt was the death sentence that David passed onto her husband.
Whenever it comes from an unnamed source I call bulls&%t! People are just bitter because of their own circumstances and need a face to blame.
The writer of the article tweeted to someone who basically said the same thing as you that she didn’t make up the sources, she actually spoke to them. See @byEmilyAndrews
Sure! Then who is the source?
Much of the article is composed of facts that we already know. Will’s number of engagements (and lack of) are recorded in the CC. His threatening letter sent to photographers, the costly renovations on KP and then the retreat to AH, his part-time helicopter job and his own words: “The term, ‘full-time royal role’ is bandied around quite a lot, and no-one actually really knows what that means,” all help paint a picture. You don’t need an Art History degree to see that they create a portrait of a prince who is not all that enthusiastic about royal work.
Royal correspondent Richard Palmer, in a twitter reply to someone who commented on the Sun article and how William seems disinterested in his royal duties said that he (Palmer) has been told before about how William is going for the ‘Norfolk lifestyle’ via living at Amner and the EAAA job.
So it’s not like what W&K are doing or not doing is unknown among certain circles and certainly not to the public who aren’t as stupid as W&K think we are.
As to who the sources are, Emily Andrews tweeted that she’s not naming names or else they won’t talk in the future.
That’s pretty standard for journalists when it comes to unnamed sources who’ll give out info in exchange for anonymity.
Journalists dont reveal their sources, that’s journalism 101
Then read the Daily Mail. They quoted his ex commander who said William went beyond the call of duty in his job and didn’t want any special treatment.
What the guy in charge says about the future king vs. what his colleagues admit about him off the record? No great surprise there.
maggie, I guess it is tempting to dismiss reports whenever we don’t like to read something. But newspapers are good for something, right? The fact that William is reluctant about his duties and wants a quiet aristocratic life in the country – do you need the Sun to tell you that? Don’t his actions show this already? All this article is doing is stating what we can already see – he likes his quiet country life. The only news is that someone in East Anglia is actually coming out to say that he is less than enthusiastic about his job – something that many of the royal followers have been saying for months.
+1 Maia. How can anyone think people close to William are going to talk on the record about this stuff? Basically Emily Andrews/the Sun just pointed out the elephant in the room.
maggie, I thought newspaper gossip about Diana’s bulimia, Charles’ boinking Camilla, Diana/Charles marriage breakdown were all false. But all of them were eventually proven true.
Before Wm/Kate got married News of The World was reporting some very specific details about them. Several years later it was uncovered that paper was hacking into Kate, Wm, Harry and others voicemail systems.
Bottom line never say never and maybe stop projecting too. Not everyone is implicitly motivated by jealous hatred.
As much as people have found fault with Charles and Camilla, over the years because of the “gasp” relationship, they’re out doing engagements and doing their royal duty. But, these two twits just want the perks and not do any work for it. Maybe Charles needs to implement a royal decree (when he assumes the throne) that states that Will shall be skipped over and Harry gets his turn. Also, Will and Kate would need to removed from royal “payroll”!! Then he can become a country farmer all he wants and live off the land – so to speak! haha.
I think Charles holds pretty much no sway over William.
The fact William is openly being so petulant and work-resistant while the Queen still reigns suggests that he is going to go nuclear-lazy after she is gone.
Thank you! One of the most deluded arguments the sugars make is that the Queen must have approved W&K’s laziness, because if she wanted them to do more, they would. I do not believe for one second that she wants them to be the lazy wastes of space they are.
Well we’re a bit bored of you mate!
There’s a list of all the engagements the royal family did last year at the end of the piece—how did William do more than Harry? How is that possible?
Almost all of Harry’s work isn’t counted officially whilst all of William and Kate’s work is counted, even when it stretches the concept of what can be described as work.
That’s how you end up with a league table that implies that Harry is workshy whilst these two are work horses – sort of.
And that’s how PR can paint them as work horses – sort of, and seem believable because some people only look at the league tables.
To add to this – I don’t think Harry’s work with the Invictus games is counted but any time W&K jump on that wagon its included in the tally.
Without Twitter we wouldn’t know all this. He’s had 3 or 4 unlisted engagements vs the 29 Jan. engagement.
As i understand it, the counting process for William (and Kate) is…
Getting out of car = engagement
Smile = engagement
Walking out the the hospital with your wife and newborn daughter = engagement <-this may count as double. 😉
LOL. That article headline made me laugh for a good 10mins.
At this point, who is surprised?!
What I want to know is who kept a list of our bets that this was going to happen sooner rather than later. I want to congratulate the winner!!
I think the list is quite long. Maybe we should open a new book on ‘What Little Willy does next!’? You can take that anyway you like 😉
I’ll start by saying that he’s quitting it to focus on his new career supporting the UK diplomatic service – he’s all political now. #royaldiplomat
A royal political farmer – what a contradiction in terms!
BTW – “What Little Willy does Next” sounds suspiciously like a porno.
Now, hopefully the rest of the press will stand up and zero in on this loser.
The celebitchy royal watchers predicted that he would get bored with the pilot thing from the moment it was announced. Any bets on whats next for Billy Bucket? 🙂
Hmmm….don’t know much about the UK but what I’ve read, William sounds like every other celebrity spawn that simply doesn’t want to work…period. Unwiling to commit for any length of time, spoiled w/no idea what it means to live a normal life he ‘says’ he wants but under normal circumstances, couldn’t hold a job and rejects responsibility. I imagine he thought being a pilot would be glamerous and enviable, but at teh end of the day, it’s still a job and he doesn’t want to have to go to work every day. Men, and women for that matter, who have no real responsbility are never happy people. He’s a curmudgeon before his time because aside from his sperm creating two human beings, he has nothing to be proud of – nothing of his own. Nothing he’s earned. On one hand, I find it all insufferable – woe is me *sarcasm* and yet on the other hand, I feel a bit sorry for him like I do any celebuspawn who was raised as a special snow flake and never part of the real world, so how else would he have turned out? I see these people’s plight as one more reason to appreciate being an average nobody in the span of the world but a very somebody in my own little world.
“Gentleman farmer”??? *checks the date on my laptop*
Lmao!
Remove yourself from the line of succession and let Harry take your place. Go live your private, gentleman’s life away from the public eye (and monies) and maybe then this man will be happy and content.
Some people are born with EVERYTHING yet they seem to be the most miserable on earth.
Whatever path William chooses he will never be happy with it – he gets whatever he wants and does it make him happy? No. He’s a miserable b*****d.
The press hate William, because he doesn’t let them in to his private life the way his parents (both deliberately and inadvertently) did.
That’s why they’re getting the hatchets out for him and Kate. Personally I’d take anything they publish with a very large pinch of salt.
I know most of you lot take great pleasure in giving the royals a kicking at any opportunity, but I don’t think most Brits agree at all with you. It seems to me that most people prefer to see the younger royals leading a quiet life – and that even includes not being very bothered when they don’t turn up to the BAFTAS.
It is not about their private lives. The only time their private lives matter is when they use those lives as an excuse. Can’t work because he’s being a co-pilot (lies). She cannot work because she’s living quietly in Wales (lies, in London or with her parents three times a week). Cannot attend the BAFTAs for some unknown reason, he is merely stated as “away”.
What they have for dinner or feed their kids doesn’t interest me, it is when they use the excuse of a “private” life that it gets dragged out. All the royals raised their kids quietly in the country, but all the rest of them didn’t pretend that living in the countryside means you cannot work royal engagements.
They are deliberately excluding the legitimate press from these events. There are numerous examples of them feeding the press info or sightings of the kids – as long as the press NEVER publish criticism. If they criticize W&K, they are off the invite list for official engagements. The press has been under a William-demanded gag order for years, an illegal one, and now they’re starting to push back. A free society needs a free press, even if a petulant prince doesn’t like it.
Lets not forget the times when they have bypassed the press altogether and published press releases and photos of their kids directly onto social media. Didn’t they break their own embargo with the first photo’s of Charlotte? The fact that Kate, the amazing photographer, takes the shots of the kids that they release to the press should say a lot. She’s in on this image control – she and her family were controlling her image throughout the GF years.
Living a quiet life is one thing. Fine. Admirable. Preferable for him, personally, and probably better for the public.
Not stepping up to your royal duties is another. Disturbing. Lazy. Not good for the country he represents.
Ha ha, most young brits have zero respect for the william and kate for the above reasons.
I am sorry, but something is up, more than the usual. Kate showing up to that event last week (?) looking like she had been crying all night? And him shunning soo many things?
He’s unhappy and miserable thats obvious, its also obvious that he’s taking it out on her and thats not new – he’s been treated her like garbage for years and she lets him. It will end in tears and go the same way his parents marriage went. William is worse than his father ever was IMO.
+1 to Charles being better than William. From biographies of both him and Diana, he certainly sounds like he has some large blinkers, but is a dedicated worker and a good person.
Speculatively speaking, I agree that William may be worse than his parents because it’s clear from so many people that he inherited the Spencer temperament. Excused in Diana for various reasons and therefore never added to the list of her emotional problems, but amply demonstrated by Charles Spencer and Johnnie Spencer numerous times.
Their spouses/partners had trouble dealing with all 3 because of it, and I don’t doubt that Kate has to deal with William’s Spencer temperament. It may also explain why PGtips was really *grumpy early on, before PR went to work and labelled it excess of personality.
*those ‘grumpy prince’ headlines from his christening photos/videos must have sent shivers down the spine of their PR to get them started this early.
I do think it’s showing that he is taking some of this out on her. She is a fool to allow this to continue, but she’s got outside pressures to make things work out. William, I hope you remove yourself from the line of succession someday. It would be doing a lot of people a big favor!
I understand this is all speculation or opinion, so offense to anyone. But, I really don’t understand this line of thought. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that she’s sad or suffering from some type of oppression, depression or emotional abuse or neglect due to her marriage. She is who she is–aimless and self-absorbed, with some self-esteem issues that date back way before she met Willy. Same with him. They are now both very comfortable in their lifestyles and relationship, whatever it may be. They have money, security and insulation from the outside world whenever they want it. She is fine with her life; he is fine with his life. As long as they’re both in control of the media exposure, they’re fine.
She chose a relationship with him and pursued it at any cost. If she wasn’t satisfied with what she is getting out of it, she wouldn’t have continued. Her mother doesn’t control her, I think she and her mother are equally ambitions and wanted the status of this match. Her treatment of other women shows she isn’t a wallflower, she can be ambitious and gritty when it gets her what she wants.
It looks like they’ve always had a set-up of being better off when they spend a lot of time apart. She gets an unlimited shopping budget, huge homes, and the status she’s craved. He gets his hunting trips without her, she gets her 10 day beach vacations with him without the kids. Time will tell if the arrangement lasts the test of time.
The strain that’s showing from her is that she has no idea how to function in the adult world where people have expectations of her. Until marriage, she did nothing but shop, vacation, and party. That’s the life they led together for 10 years.
After marriage came expectations from the people who pay their bills, and neither of them is willing to accept those expectations. The year she did 100+ engagements and said it was too hectic and she hoped things would slow down? It shows that she thinks working a few hours a week is too much to handle. If he doesn’t want the job and snowflake cannot handle working, he needs to step aside and take his line with him.
Willy wants all the perks of being a Royal without any of the work.
Maybe the Monarchy should end after HRH passes on.
I think if William had his way, he would be a total recluse.
This, or, I think he would be like Uncle Gary.
Did La Maison de Bang Bang ever sell? Maybe William bought it from Gary.
Cue 1) bashing article on Harry or the Yorks and 2) photos of the kids in 3, 2, 1 …
#poorjason
Just based on brief observation it seems to me that Edward and Sophie Essex(?) would be better for the throne. They seem to thrive on their roles.
Does no none see the bigger picture? He likely has unresolved and untreated grief and or PTSD issues and his mothes life and death is probably the root. Think about it instead of pearl.clutching for a minute. Have some humanity .
Cute. A trauma over twenty years in the past with ample support from friends, family, job…. So many experience so much worse with so much less and manage to make do. He’s just lazy.
Well said.
Well… his wife has said repeatedly that she’s worked years and years in the mental health field and knows a bunch of things about it and he’s the patron of a charity that deals with children who’ve lost their parents, so they’re both in a good position to help with William’s mental health issue.
Unless they’re both full of crap and they think there’s nothing wrong with themselves.
Dorothy
I agree with your statement to a certain degree, however if you review video from when William was 3ish to 4 (the in private, in public video) you’ll note William is petulant and rather difficult by nature. The PTSD likely worsened that trait. Others are correct in pointing out William has had more support in many ways than the majority of the population because of who he is. It’s a valid argument.
Some people are born for leadership roles while others are not.
I see the big picture…..this man has never accepted his station in life. It’s not as if he couldn’t do something about it, either.
He wants to live the Princely Life, but not do what is expected for that role.
William was always a little snot. Its not PTSD. Ask Ken Wharf.