You may have forgotten, but earlier this year, the British press went full-throttle against the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. There were several major critical stories about their laziness, and Will and Kate honestly didn’t do much to push back on it. One of the most interesting stories was about how William barely works part-time at the East Anglian Air Ambulance, despite using that job as an excuse for why he can’t do more royal work. When William was barely eight months into the EAAA job, sources claimed he was already “bored” and looking for ways to take time off, like the month he took off for Christmas last year. Basically, William barely clocks in twenty hours a week at the EAAA, just enough time for some photo-ops a few times a month, here and there, when he feels like it. I bring this up because William made a speech yesterday for Heads Together, the mental health charity/whatever that he started with Harry and Kate. William talked about how he knows how work can feel “overwhelming.”
Prince William took his mental health campaign to the workplace on Monday.
“Work, as we all know, can at times be a source of great fulfillment, growth and fun, but also at times a significant source of stress sometimes — if we are honest, to the point of its being overwhelming,” he told a meeting of the Heads Together campaign, the mental-health initiative he kicked off with wife Princess Kate and brother Prince Harry in April.
“Catherine, Harry and I have been campaigning on this issue for only a few months now, but what we have observed already is that when we get our heads together when we talk and listen to family, to friends and colleagues, we share the load; we reduce the problem; we realize we are not alone and we break down the barriers that prevent us from getting the help we need,” he said. “It is really that simple: a problem shared is a problem halved.”
He praised businesses that had made mental health a priority while urging others to do the same. At his work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service — where he has spoken previously about the “sad, dark” moments he faces —he says they are supportive.
“As a pilot working with an air ambulance charity, I have seen first-hand how work can affect individuals’ mental health. But I have also seen how an employer can create an environment where it is as unremarkable to talk about feeling a bit ‘down’ as it is to admit to having a cold,” he told the gathering at Unilever’s headquarters in London. (The company is a founding partner of Heads Together.)
“All of the air ambulance team know that we can get help for what is going on in our heads if we need it. We know where to turn, as practical help is well sign-posted, and we know that no one will judge us if we do admit to difficulties. Mental health exists just as physical health exists. It is no big deal.”
[From The Daily Mail and People]
I’m not mocking the idea that people in stressful jobs need to feel like they can talk about their mental health. I’m not saying that at all. Doctors, first responders, firefighters, police officers, and anyone in a stressful job should feel like they can talk about mental health without being stigmatized. And if that was William’s message, I would be all for it. But when he tries to personalize it, that’s when I’m left wondering if he feels “overwhelmed” by the two or three shifts he works a week (if that). Or is William “overwhelmed” by the handful of royal appearances he makes a month? Is the message “let’s not stigmatize those with mental health issues”? Or is the message “Normal Bill gets stressed out like all of the normal blokes”?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Such a delicate little snowflake.
My father was a firefighter. In a city. And he worked a second job.
Get over yourself, William.
His grandmother begged to do the equivalent of his job. When she turned 18, for the final months of WW2, she drove the wounded to the hospitals and fixed the trucks she drove! Go talk to her about how hard it is to copilot a helicopter ambulance for a few hours! Good Lord.
His grandmother did do that, but since WWII that entire family hasn’t earned their keep. He is only the most flagrant example. They appear at charity events and for that they are allowed to live a stupendously lavish life? Why?
I did not realize she was hands-on to the point of working on trucks.
I cannot imagine any of the current crop getting a drop of oil on them (even popping open the hood of a vehicle).
It wasn’t really a comment on the monarchy itself just that he could look at his own family tree and find someone who did his job ramped up to ten. Her service record, while impressive, is not enough to justify sixty years of luxury.
I could see Anne do it.
I could see Andy with oil on him but it would be massage oil.
His trying to personalize it is so that he can normalize and de-stigmatize it. He’s not whining about his job. I don’t really care for him, but this is ridiculous. Everyone seems to be sharks in the water waiting for the scent of blood and then pouncing.
He doesn’t do either of his jobs anywhere near 20 hpw. He doesn’t work anywhere near 40 hpw. He has been the subject of lazy, workshy articles and rumors for year.
To have him stand up and talk about anything related to work is going to result in criticism.
His grandfather is in his 90’s for GDS and does more royal work than him and his wife put together.
Just saying.
KB
You’re mixing metaphors, sharks don’t pounce.
😉
@KB this is the second time he has been at a mental health charity and complained that his work was overwhelming him so they needed to make sure he got an easy task. So, no I believe he is talking about himself.
True!! I couldn’t believe it, but she was actually trained as a mechanic! Most of the men have had military careers.
And I don’t suppose there was a butler, a housekeeper, a cook, and several maids ready to leap into action when he got home, lightpurple.
Lol the comments will write themselves on this one.
* offers popcorn *
Hmmmm
Yep, I just came to type a big old hearty, “ORLY?”
As someone with mental health issues, yes doing even the simplest work can be overwhelming -getting out of bed can be overwhelming – so I get that I guess but tge fact that sometimes I fail at basic things makes me more depressed which makes doing anything harder. It’s a vicious cycle.
I think William is just lazy so I have no sympathy for that. He want to live a posh life and do nothing to earn simply because he doesn’t want to. Very different
I think part of the quote was left off: “Work, as we all know, can at times be a source of great fulfillment, growth and fun, but also at times a significant source of stress sometimes — if we are honest, to the point of its being overwhelming,.. or so I’ve heard.”
lol..maybe he is so protected and coddled he truly is oblivious to just how lazy people see him and his wife. Otherwise why would he set himself up with such speeches and quotes.
That makes more sense.
Oh, holy hell.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
*retreats into Power Bath to sip iced coffee with my eyes closed*
Don’t forget the Valium!
I want to slap him.
Can I join? Today I had 72 phone calls on my cell in 2 hours from different people for different problems. I had to recharge it. Also I had to meet some personally to talk. By 10 I needed a coffee (I don’t even drink it normally) just to unwind. I put my phone on fly mode to have some peace and when i opened it I had 21 missed phone calls. And I do all this for a misery salary and I can barely make end meets. Now, his HRH goes out and talks about work related stress. B..h please. The speech is spot on. don’t get me wrong but read by him….yes yes I want to slap him.
Right. The premise is there but the delivery (or delivery man) is off.
Overworked and overwhelmed – hahahahahahaha! I guess being entitled and lazy is just very taxing but I wouldn’t know about that, am too busy working hard to pay my bills.
These 2 are just beyond clueless, I’m embarrassed for the charities who are stuck with them and their bad PR soundbites.
The message would be much more powerful if they actually spoke from the heart and personal experience, something neither W&K are capable of doing. They are doing more harm than good for their mental health charities as a) people deride anything these 2 say b) its obvs that this is just all for Cambridge PR – if they were truly behind it then they would do more publicly and privately.
They also have this lovely tendency to blame mental health issues on parents not being around enough and lack of money. If only both parents worked less than part time while surrounding the kid in privilege and luxury then your kid could be as perfect as their. Which is a message so bungled it does more harm than good.
Yes. It’s as if structural issues (poverty, housing, job insecurity, etc) have no bearing on mental health or the ability to parent as well as you’d like to at all.
We all said this when this twit first started with his initiative and here he is, still blaming individuals for “failings” and ignoring circumstances outside their control.
^^ Yes to both – plus they both continue to push the narrative that if you just talk to someone about it it will all be better. This is a vastly complex issue that is far beyond the comprehension of these 2.
With their ignorant statements they are adding to the awful MH stigma, not breaking it down.
If it’s true that Diana wanted both sons to understand the real world and others’ struggles, she would be at least partly disappointed. Very few people have the level of assistance he has.
Imagine not having to worry about a child or elder who needs care, or how to get the shopping and meals done every day. Time is a resource, just like money. Some people are strapped for both, and that is stressful. I think that’s what he, Kate and Harry cannot truly understand (even if they try).
AMEN. And also W & K have more than hinted through statements by KP, etc. that they are better parents than others because they shirk work for “family.” As they live in a freakin’ palace.
For a complex and critical issue like mental health, W & K are NOT the people you want as self-appointed experts doing important “work” on the issue. But you KNOW that is how they and their flunkys characterize it.
In his defense I think it would be very difficult to see people die. He is a first responder to incredibly injured or sick people. I know ER personnel see this x 1000, and I can’t image the stress of working in a busy ER. But what if that’s a child in his helicopter? You can’t tell me most of you would not be really broken up and overwhelmed too.
Am sure he has seen some challenging things as an air and rescue pilot but again his attempts to relate have come off badly, given that we all know he’s hardly ever on shift and any occasion where he has been involved in a difficult situation it has somehow made it to the press where he’s been hailed as a ‘hero’. His behaviour makes it hard to take him seriously.
He, like Kate, need to work on their communication skills as they do not come across as how they intend. They try to relate but its never executed well.
They both have issues and neither seem to care to get help for them.
Wouldn’t his habit of showing up to work occasionally and taking a month off at Christmas put a strain on his co-workers who then have to take on extra shifts to cover for him? Those pilots then get less time off because they have to baby him, causing the real pilots additional stress. He is insufferable. None of this “Let’s everybody listen and understand each other” applies to him. Gah, I don’t know why he is tolerated by the air ambulance. He’s put an enormous strain on other people because he wants to play heli pilot. This twat just gives me the creeps.
bluhare, he isn’t the first responder, he is the co-pilot. It is his job to stay in the helicopter, with the pilot, while the first responders deal with the tragedy.
Every time you see him in one of his photo ops, standing outside the helo, it is a photo op. He is not the doctor. He is not the paramedic. Him standing there getting his picture taken is him getting in the way of the people who are doing the medical work.
Exactly.
I think this was a tone deaf way of speaking about work stress in general, more than a personal complaint. It was an uber awkward attempt to say “I know how you feel” and “just share the load and you’ll be fine.” He failed all around, but I don’t think he intended to whine about his work load – he was just trying to act like he understands what it feels like to be a commoner. Which was a piss poor approach to take.
I do think that alleviating stress in the workplace requires more than talking about it with friends, family and co-workers. If people are so stressed at work that they become sick then there’s a fundamental problem in the workplace. That would require a closer look the working conditions, the management, etc.
I don’t like how Will, Kate and Harry’s mental health engagements always seem to individualize the problems pertaining to mental health – as in “if we just talk about things then we’ll be fine”. That approach tends to minimize the problem. There are bio-chemical markers for several mental illnesses and there are larger structural issues that either cause or deepend mental health issues – like a stressful or toxic work environment, poverty, etc.
+1 ArtHistorian.
And you’re so right about the structural issues in a toxic workplace. Often, either family or co-workers can be sources of the stress. If you complain about your job in my family, you are given no sympathy. The parents worked in an era where you stayed at one company, got good benefits, and everything was fine. They do not understand the 0 hour contract lives of people today.
If your co-workers are the source of stress, or they like the boss who is aiming negative behavior at you? Talking to them about stress on the job won’t get you any sympathy, and may make things even worse.
+2 They don’t really have even a basic grasp of the different factors involved, let alone how they should be addressed.
I think it is really important to relate the conversation about mental health issues to a wider socio-economic context. In our age every problem seems to be individualized, even when those problems are partly caused by larger structural and social issues. It is an approach that can be particularly nefarious when it comes to mental health because it can very easily turned the whole discourse on mental illness into bootstrappin’ rhetoric: “you just need to get yourself together!”, “You just need to open up and talk about your problems” – opening up is just the first step in a very long and hard process that may require medication or hospitalization, and it is a process that often is dogged by set-backs. Set-backs that very well can be caused by stress about work, housing, finances, etc. (especially if you’re to ill to work).
Will, Kate and Harry skims over the surface with buzzwords and banal platitudes – and that approach isn’t entirely harmless because, even well-meaning, it can actually contribute to stigmatization, especially in the mind of the sufferer. There’s a need for a frank discussion about mental health issues, a discussion that acknowledges the difficulties and that is fact based (as well as supported by accounts from people struggling with these issues).
There’s also a need to discuss why the stigma of mental illness is so hard to combat, even in our much more informed age. IMO that is because mental illness affects both thought and behavioural patterns and for both the sufferers and their loved ones it can be very difficult to separate the illness from the person, it can be very difficult to accept something emotionally that you know rationally. At least that is my experience.
Exactly. Thank you. I cannot stand the boot-strapping sh!t. As if people haven’t been trying all along to deal with things as best they could. I think also, that these discussions don’t quite flesh out what is meant by socio-economic factors, and that is very much the root of the issue to a large extent, because that is where the targeted interventions and resource-building will occur -at the community level, in schools, work places, etc. There are multiple barriers to access of basic medical care, basic nutrition, etc. These aren’t just cracks, these are massive potholes that aren’t being addressed.
I’ve noticed with Harry too, that he seemed to confuse grief with mental illness. They are just not equipped to deal with this discussion, not without some dedicated study. There needs to be an understanding of the big picture before they can strategize how best to use their platform and their resources to create the resources people need. It’s just surface right now, like you said. There is an entire iceberg of barriers beneath the surface of ‘just talk about it’.
My experience is the same. I consider it one of the fundamental misattributions at the heart of mental health stigma that both sufferers and observers misattribute symptoms of mental illness to personality. It’s a huge cause of both the bootstrapping rhetoric and denial imo. Not helped by age of onset.
He is a second responder, I guess. They’re called in for severely injured people who need to be air ambulanced out. Excuse the error. However, whether he is the physician or EMT or not, he sees some horrible situations and is subject to stress. I think it’s quite callous to not acknowledge that.
Whether I think he works enough there or at Duke-ing is another conversation. Because there are some positives with him and his wife. And even if you have to scour the internet to find them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Whatever those situations are, they are less stressful than the people who are doing the medical work. Their work is made more stressful by him getting in the way for photo ops, and likely by him being at EAAA in general. And by the accounts of his co-workers, he only shows up 1-2 shifts per month.
It is the same situation as SAR. Everyone covers for him not doing the job, but he takes all the credit and sympathy for the horrors they go through.
So what if it’s less stressful than the doctor trying to resuscitate a patient? Watching someone in a life threatening situation — especially if you cannot help — is very stressful, especially if it’s a child.
As I said, whether he works enough there or at his royal job is another conversation.
And my point remains, he is hardly ever there. His co-workers admitted it, until he brought in his henchman to take over and silence them. He takes credit for their work and their stress, he leans on people to get sympathy for what is experienced during those shifts. Those shifts he barely works, and when he does show up, he’s gets in the way for the PR photo op.
William’s royal-work-avoiding jaunt at EAAA makes everyone else’s work there more stressful. Whether he shows up for the shifts or once again cancels last minute and leaves them holding the bag. Those co-workers are the ones deserving of compassion, because William’s selfishness is making their difficult work even more difficult than it should be.
But your point has nothing to do with the topic. And on that note, I’m done with this.
He’s just a co-pilot who doesn’t have to make any critical decisions. Everyone will be looking out for him as well, which is ridiculous. He has a bodyguard with him. I doubt he has much contact or nearness to any of the patients. He’s just a guy pushing buttons a decent distance away from the crises. He doesn’t get up close and personal. He’s not supposed to.
I don’t know about this helicopter- does it have a partition between the pilots and the ER section? I would expect it would.
The point is, he makes the job harder for everyone. He’s a problem for his co-workers and his need for a bodyguard means family can’t travel with the injured. He creates workplace stress, and if it was something he cared about in the slightest he’d never, ever have gone into this job.
Bluhare, you have a strong point. And his full quote isn’t, “Oh woe is me, my job is overwhelming,” it’s to encourage employers to acknowledge mental health needs just as much as physical health needs. I mean, I am no great fan of the Cambridges, but this article, and these comments, are absurd and willfully missing the point.
Thank you, Chicken.
I agree with you. I’ve worked with paramedics/firefighters before and it doesn’t matter whether it’s the medics who actually work on the patient or the ones driving the bus, they all feel stress about the situation, most especially when the patient is a child. They ALL want to save the life that’s been entrusted to their care; to get that baby, little one, adult to a hospital in time to make a difference.
Those who would dismiss the pilots just because they’re not directly providing medical care simply don’t understand how that situation plays out in real life.
And I don’t see anywhere in the quote above where William says he personally feels stressed by his part-time work. But he relates to those who do, probably because he works with people who do the job full time and need someone to talk to. IOW, perhaps the perspective he has is as the sympathetic ear on the team rather than the ‘stressed out’ one.
Bluhare, I agree. The man isn’t a robot, I’m sure there have been work-related situations that have bothered him. I don’t know why that has to be bewildering. He may not be relatable but I thinks that he is being honest here. Plus, he is spreading a good message even if he isn’t the ideal messenger for everyone.
Thank you, Tulip Garden!!
As someone who has worked with those with dementia and seen them die, and those with mental illness and seen them die, it is hard. Very hard.
However we don’t always have to same options for self care as service providers as William does. I do believe that more jobs in that field need to offer the options for employees to able to have time/resources/money to seek that. I believe in that part of the message. There is however, something a little offputting about someone who lives in the lap of luxury and doesn’t have the same everyday after work struggles and financial worries, pretending to understand it.
Yeah, William isn’t the optimal messenger for this topic…..
… and sayeth the lord unto William, “sure, Jan.”
hahahahah – I snorted over that one, thanks!
keep seeing this,sorry for my ignorance what is this ”sure,Jan” ?
It’s from The Brady Bunch. Jan had a fake boyfriend named George Glass.
Jan: “No I mean Glass, George Glass.”
Marcia: “That’s funny. I’ve never heard of a George Glass at our school.
Jan: “That’s because he’s a transfer student. He came in the last week of school. He’s really good looking and he thinks I’m super cool.”
Marcia: “Sure, Jan.”
It’s a reference to a sequel movie based on the Brady Bunch sitcom. Jan was the forever stressed sibling who felt ignored as the middle daughter. ‘Sure, Jan’ was older sister Marcia’s way of throwing shade, and it later became a GIF/meme phrase.
It’s even more powerful with “Thus sayeth…” at the beginning, just like in the Bible! Good one.
Loopy, “sure, Jan” is a Brady Bunch reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHN-b6Yj8wA
he’s positively insufferable. Please make him go back to Norfolk.
The royal Goop
😉
How ironic.
I would say work can feel overwhelming regardless of what line of work you are, in particular if you are prone to anxiety/depression. Not to compare those stresses to first responders but increased responsibility, difficult colleagues/superiors, threat of being downsized/replaced, approaching timelines etc can have a real impact on someone’s mental health.
Yes, dear. Tell that to the zero hours contracts people over at Sports Direct. I’m sure talking with their friends and families about hiding water bottles in the warehouse to pee in because breaks were too short to get to the toilet and back in time will make everything just tickety boo.
Gah.
Doesn’t Jason realize how out-of-touch these two are? Every thing they have is paid for by someone else. They have never earned the roof over their heads. He doesn’t have to work 70 hours a week to support their family.
He’s stressed because he doesn’t want the job of future king? Then quit. No one is going to try to stop him. He can walk away with millions and live a private life in Switzerland. But he’d have to earn respect from then on, instead of getting automatic deference, which he cannot handle.
The story that leaked about William not working wasn’t showing him working 20 hpw. It was him working fewer than 10 shifts over the course of four months. Now that the William insider is in charge at EAAA, no more off-the-record stories will be happening.
Talk about on the job stress?! You have a high-profile co-worker who cancels last minute, doesn’t pull his weight, always gets holidays off, and you’re never allowed to complain about it.
Aren’t both William and Kate called King and Queen of freebies? I thought royals get everything for free. Am I wrong?
@ notasugarhere
I didn’t quite get that line about William insider in charge of EAAA? And could you post a link?
I think the leak that leaked Williams lack of shifts at EAAA happened because some of William’s coworkers weren’t happy about his lack of work ethics and so somebody made sure his real work schedule was released. These things happen when conflicts aren’t discussed openly, I believe.
Soon after the damning article came out, EAAA announced a new chairman. William Cubitt, Prince William insider and the fellow who is so close to them he organized the wedding. No more leaks will be allowed out about William and his schedule.
People who are stressed and time strapped often have no time or energy to talk to family or friends. He doesn’t get it, and really shouldn’t use himself as an example of stressed worker — ever!
Now if he brings along a co-worker who pulls 40+ hours without the perks — that would be relatable and genuine.
I think he’s making a speech about work ‘generally’ and how it can affect anyone adversely but then obviously you turn what he says around and examine it in the context of his life and I start getting all shouty, wanting to type in capitals while screaming ‘get over yourself you insufferable twat’ or words to that effect.
You’re correct
Right. He’s got a nerve talking about something he’s never experienced.
His only stress is from boredom at his ‘jobs’.
I like the message it’s just unfortunate it came from him. Not one member of that family works, what they do is volunteer their time.
And then you know what happens? People donate to the charity or cause. No one brings more money for charity than the RF. Why do you think East Angelia got the new chopper?
EAAA got a new chopper because William lobbied the govt for it. The govt publicly acknowledged his actions (it was part of the publicly announced budget statement from the treasury by the Chancellor George Osbourne) and the new chopper was delivered in time for William’s start date.
BTW, EAAA had been lobbying for a new chopper for years.
The conclusion, create a new position for William to play at co-pilot normal life = get new chopper that you desperately need = the things one has to put up with/ manipulate to get anywhere!!!!!
Plus that lobbying only happened after all of the complaints about William’s RPOs taking paramedic training. They were going to take the place of the hired paramedics in the smaller helos. Ultimately the RPOs weren’t going to focus on the patient, but would put William’s safety above the medical job they’d taken from someone else.
This idiot is a walking punchline, isn’t he? William, the Clueless Wonder stikes again!
True! This might have been a good message from someone who actually works.
I have a great idea for a reality show: put all the royals who siphon off the public in real jobs and let’s see who can handle it and do a good job (like the rest of poor serfs) and who ever does the best job, they get to keep their royal perks of living off the public and volunteering their “spare time” to charity events where they can wear expensive designer jewels.
I just need a title for this new reality show…..
To be or not to be……a royal????
I like that idea very much! A bit like ‘I’m a Celeb, Get Me Out of Here’ (which has just finished here in the UK and I’m in need of a replacement fix). ‘I’m A Royal, Get Me Out Of Here’ could feature them all in the real 9-5 jungle for 6 months, and only those who show willing and make it to end without screaming ‘I’m A Royal, Get Me Out of Here’ would retain their status and privilege.
Let’s make it happen.
Or like Paris Hilton’s The Simple Life. They have to live with regular people and go work at a real job. It’s more relatable than the jungle and one or two might actually do well.
I didn’t mean an actual real jungle, I was using jungle in the ‘it’s a jungle out there’ sense. ie. real life that the rest of us have to contend with on a daily basis.
Ha! I’d rather see them in a lumberjack style log rolling contest, as hilarity ensues. I have a vision of Waity then Willy tumbling off into the water gracelessly while the queen is the last one standing, tiara flashing in the sun, her little feet peddling furiously away.
Anybody else remember when he was some kind of teenage heartthrob? Brittney Spears wanted to date him and so forth. And now look at him. No wonder people think his brother is good looking.
He wanted to date Britney. She was his first crush – which would have been amazing.
Work? I appreciate the discussion on mental health, but I would love to see him work an actual 40+ hour week while juggling the rest of his life and then talk about how overwhelming and stressful that can be. I don’t normally get bothered by this crew but I’m in a mood today. How can you speak on something you know nothing about?
MellyMel, well you just did it.
And so did you, Joannie.
Thank you Elaine lol
+1 MellyMel.
Elaine I think he does know some of what he’s speaking about. Whether you like him or not he’s not completely clueless.
@ MellyMel
I think you are spot on. William works part-time at best so there isn’t much stress. And even the rest of his life is comfortably juggled by assistants and all sorts of aides. And with him it was always that way: he always has a lot of help in his life especially when it comes to daily chores like cleaning, shopping, laundry, ironing …
As a pilot he doesn’t have much contact with the patients.
So he really shouldn’t complain about stressful work.
As for his speech: it was too simplistic and he didn’t acknowledged that ordinary employees get into a lot of trouble if they admit to mental health issues.
Oh geez! I spent 7 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher in suburbs of 2 large American cities. And there were times we worked 18 hour shifts for 3-4 days/nights in a row. There were no months off or mental health vacations. We didn’t even get counseling during major traumatic events, & barely any after line-of-duty-deaths! My 2nd week on the job, I was on the phone when a guy shot his girlfriend, then himself. I can still hear those gunshots & I can still hear that mother pleading for her son to put the gun down. And I can still hear her scream as he shot himself.
I had the same sort of situation when I was working a crisis line. A guy with a knife threatening to kill himself. He’d been drinking, and was ranting and I was trying to talk him down. There was a crash, and a small child came on the phone and said “My daddy’s bleeding.”. We didn’t have automatic call tracing and all that, and I had to keep that child on the phone while they traced the call and got help over there.
I still remember it and it was over 20 years ago. Which I probably why I have some compassion for William now.
I doubt they make WeeWee Willie work very hard. If he does barely 20 hours a week then that would be about 2 – 3 shifts. As a pilot he will get a very strict schedule with regard to the hours he has to rest between flights / working hours. Honestly, even truck drivers get these strict schedules which tell them when to rest and such.
As a pilot he does probably not even touch the patient. Not sure if he even sees them as ambulance vehicles usually have a strict separation between driver // medical cabin because it has to be kept clean and reduce stress.
As for his speech: it can and should be criticised for its triviality and lack of background research.
Not making any defence for William’s laziness but just picking up on the couple of comments about the size of the helicopters they use for the air ambulance. They are tiny. There is barely room to swing a stethoscope even in the larger ones. The paramedic treating the injured person is right behind the pilot.
Pilots know the general details of the calls they are responding to and they will be able to hear what is going on behind them. Clearly, that is nowhere near as stressful as being a paramedic treating the injured person but they are not entirely removed either.
STEP DOWN
Enough with this waste and embarrassment.
Seeing as he’s been in London for at least a week my guess the ambulance job is pretty much gone these days.
How many RPO does The Cambridges have? How much does it cost?
I kind of feel bad for William. I truly don’t think he was trying to complain about his work or having to do work. I think he was trying to talk about work related stress and its effects on mental health and tried to be relatable. Unfortunately, he doesn’t come across that way. He certainly doesn’t have the ease with people that his brother does.
I get the gist of what he was attempting to say, but his wording (at least the first part) is a bit clunky. He undoubtedly has access to speech writers who can advise and help him practice.
I agree. He’s just making general comments that “everyone can relate to,” but they’re so general as to be meaningless.
The main gist of their speeches (his and Kate’s) is always “We have to open up and talk about these issues!” but ironically, they themselves don’t seem to have anything to say. I don’t blame them if they want to keep their own mental health struggles private, but can’t they at least bring up some facts, some statistics?… After each of these bland, pointless offerings, I’m always like, “Why did you pick this topic if you don’t want to engage with it?”
Anything that comes off the BRF members these days just provokes a yawn and anger at the unaccounted for privilege these people have.
You want glamorous ambassadors for the country who will put elegance in you messages, get those glamorous intelligent people, award winning scientists, distinguished philanthropists, actors , musicians. Atleast no one will laugh when they spread such messages.
I hope Carole made him cheese toast when he went home. And rubbed his feet while telling him what a good boy he is and how hard he works.
Oh, please…
No one believes this manchild has done anything more stressful in his life than deciding which blue sweater to wear with his chinos and which flight suit makes him look fat.
LOL!
I would like to think he genuinely cares about people who suffer stress at work and in his ham-fisted way is trying to raise awareness of the issue,
However I am always sceptical of Whiny and Waity’s public pronouncements. They just come across as self-pitying and patronising.
OH NO YOU DIDN’T! *snaps furiously in a z pattern*
Stop trying to make ‘Catherine’ happen!
Hahaha! I know, right?! I shudder when people call her ‘Catherine’. It sounds sooo pretentious.
Look, its Kate, alright!? Or Kate Middleton, Waity, or Kannot. In a pinch, if you *must* use her Royal title, its ‘Duchess of Doolittle’ thankyouverymuch.
I know, right? Whenever he refers to “Catherine” for a split second I think “Who??” And then my mind snaps back and I realize he is referring to Waity, Maker of Chutney.
I only connected the headline with the person and my reaction was a resounding HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. He is CLUELESS. Future king, ha? I don’t have the patience to read the post.
Does William really want to be King? Why do I have a gut feeling that he and Kate will never make it to King and Queen?
Yes, Kitty we know. You’ve mentioned this several times before.
Then you know I’m right.
He is an insufferable chode, matched by his tedious little wife. All I can say is that it is a good thing the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret are not alive, those two would certainly get a serious dressing down, and I don’t think that eejit Waity would be his wife.
His Mother died. He’s been in the press since before birth. Chances are he has anxiety, depression. Not to mention feelings like everyone does. It’s mean to pick on him about a mental health speech.
I think it is perfectly fair to criticise his speech. He had time to prepare it. He has the advisors and allegedly the education to make a good speech. It is his job to try to make a difference and try to not just shell out simplistic platitudes about life like “mental health is no big deal”.
Some of us on here have mental health diagnoses and thus have an interest in how these issues are discussed in the media. Personally, I feel my disease gets misrepresented by these speeches, so I think I’m allowed to critique them on that basis.
The speech was bad and poorly executed – he trivialised the complexities of mental health by saying that if you talk to others about how you feel it will be all better and then said that ‘its no big deal’. It IS a big deal – that the whole point of him being involved, to help break the stigma and educate people.
“Mental health exists just as physical health exists. It is no big deal.”
Dear William,
mental health is a big deal because in REAL LIFE nobody who has a job that pays the bills will admit to mental health problems because your boss will likely seek to kick you out of your job.
Yes, we know you won’t get kicked out of your job not even when your are slagging. Because your grandma is the Queen, that is why.
In REAL LIFE mental health is a huge problem because the science of psychology seems to be conducted rather airily. There is one meta-study which just evaluated the data that other researchers posted in their academic papers. So they just “checked” the data of other researchers in psychology. Guess what! Half of those academic papers didn’t or couldn’t support their own bold hypothesis with their own data. Another study evaluated how many experiments in psychology could be repeated with the same results. Not many.
Also there is a problem in checking and controlling the quality of psychotherapy.
Also many health insurances don’t pay properly for that stuff.
Also the pharmaceutical industry has a huge interest in selling pharmaceuticals for psychological issues and boy their sales numbers have increased in that last decade!!!
Dear William,
you are in an exceptional position as you won’t lose your job not matter what you say. So please improve the things you say in your speeches. Because nobody wants to hear your trivial platitudes. And because you do want to make a difference, don’t you?
Yo Wills: IMA LET YOU FINISH. BOLLOCKS. THE GRAVY TRAIN LEFT DA STATION. YO.
Glib Willy strikes again.
I can’t with William and Kate.
William, it’s time to take the chip off your shoulder. It’s time to stop using your mother’s unfortunate death to avoid the real work of helping your subjects live better lives. You’ve been handed the keys to the kingdom, get in the f*cking car and drive. Many others have been through wayyyyy worse situations than you and yet they still have a mission in life which involves more than simply trying to shirk as much duty as possible and spend your days being a butt-lazy country toff with your clearly incapable wife.
This self-entitled lazy sloth never ceases to amaze me! His remarks are a joke and an insult to those who actually do know the meaning of work and actions vs empty words – oh and William you need to do a bit more research on mental health before you are qualified to preach and advise on the subject!!
Every time I hear him go on about this stuff, I want to scream.
Mental health services in the UK have been hardest hit of all by the cuts, because they’re like sexual health services: nobody wants to admit to needing them, and the people using them are not likely to campaign about service underfunding. He keeps banging on about how essential it is that people ask for help, but there is no bloody help!
In the UK at the moment there is such a crunch on child mental health services that a kid literally has to be a serious danger to themselves or a non-family member (threats to family, and nobody cares) before there is any paid-for provision. So when he and Kate witter on about how essential it is that parents ask for help, as they so frequently have done before, the sheer ignorance of that statement makes me want to hit them. Six out of ten referrals – that’s where a doctor has had a child brought to them by the parents, decided the problem is severe enough that they need expert intervention, and has made that referral to the mental health team – get refused, because the cuts mean there is no provision there.
My son has serious anxiety because he has high functioning autism. It’s very common in kids with autism, and they respond well to play therapy, art therapy, basically being taught strategies to calm themselves in a world that they find far more overwhelming than a non-autistic child. His paediatrician made the referral, but warned me he would be refused because he is not self-harming… yet. The paed said, and was angry about it as he said it, that autistic kids are at the bottom of the pile because their health is seen as already impaired. Somehow, my kind, brilliantly clever, funny, creative little boy’s mental health is less important, because he has a disability. He is somehow a less worthwhile human being. He was refused.
We can afford private care, by making appropriate sacrifices, and so we do, but the thing is, most people can’t, and we all pay for the NHS which in times past provided cradle to grave care. And the worst part is that care is not refused for adults; waiting lists are very long, but care is not refused. Children are. We were sent a print-out for local charities that might be able to help, none of which had expertise with autism and two of which were drop-in counselling services (autistic children often struggle with change, so a different counselling provider every time would be hard, even if they had the least understanding of what underlies his anxiety – google “I’m Not Naughty I’m Autistic” to see what a simple shopping trip is like for my son).
The privilege that allows them to assume parents just need a royal couple to suggest they get their kids help with mental health provision! It’s breathtakingly infuriating, because they are so sheltered from life, they think it’s that easy – that the only possible stumbling block must be parental reluctance. And when the crisis in child mental health services has been front page headline news for over a year, and they are still trotting this garbage out, you have to start wondering what the hell they think they are playing at. Why not try advocating for actual provision, so the parents have some to access when they do as sweetly advised, and ask for help?
Fuckwits.
Guardian article, showing that in some parts of the country 80% of kids are being denied help: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/04/nhs-child-mental-health-services-anxiety-depression
““Recently all referrals seem to get bounced,” said Dr Karen Cox, a GP in Bristol. “They’ve included children who self-harm, a child who was physically abusing his mother and a child with severe night-terrors after the loss of his father. All three of them were advised to contact local charitable organisations.”
Are they allowed to, though? Wouldn’t that be seen as political? Maybe bringing in more money to charities (if that’s what they’re doing) is the only thing they can do to help.
My best wishes to your son and family.
They are allowed not to repeatedly urge parents “don’t be embarrassed; take your children to the doctor with mental health problems so you can secure them help, just as you would if they need antibiotics” when that implies the stumbling block to help is parental ignorance/intransigence. It isn’t – most parents would very happily access help if their children needed it, were that help available. It shifts the narrative to a cost-free platitude. It’s actually fairly political, in that it supports the notion that there is no crisis. When it is well documented fact that there is.
And WIlliam’s engagement with Centrepoint is equally political in nature, if you regard helping young people with such fundamentals of a welfare state as a roof over their head and basic medical care as political. Traditionally, in this country, we haven’t. He’s also very happy to lobby for the state to pay for things that directly affect him – no worries on political aspects there.
Thank you, and it’s not a personal complaint as we are fortunate enough to be solid financially. The majority of families with disabled children are below the poverty line, because even in families who remain together (disabled children often have divorced parents, in my experience) you can’t both undertake paid work. We’re very lucky in having options for private care.
Every time he opens his mouth the Duke of Grimace and Earl of Sneer shows just how clueless he really is.
It’s been real. Can’t deal with multiple standards in allowed/not allowed posts. Enjoyed taking to most of you.
HOW THE HELL, WOULD HE KNOW !!!!!
If he’s feeling overwhelmed with the teeninecy bit of work he does, he needs to abdicate.
Wonder how he’d support himself in the real world? Especially in this economy who would hire someone with his attitude and non existent work ethic?
He can live on the interest of his mother’s inheritance. Since he won’t be working, he won’t need to buy new clothes or worry about transportation or child care costs.
I believe he was trying to de-stigmatize rather than paint himself as an ‘everyman’. I’m not a huge fan; he and ‘waity Katey’ are fully in the ‘Tim nice but dim’ category for me. That fiery fabulous ginger on the other hand, is King material 100%. He is his Mother’s true legacy.
…if he seems strange think on this…his parents had screaming rows before they acrimoniously divorced when he was a teen…his mom then died horribly with all the gory gossip in public…he then had to do that horrible funeral walk without crying…then he gets a job where he has to witness more pain & misery…he could easily have become a substance abuser…instead hes trying to live a responsible life…he feels stuff like a normal human being…I woulnt describe anyone with that kind of childhood experience in negative terms…am i wrong….