Prince Charles formed The Prince’s Trust 42 years ago. The Prince Trust’s does a lot of different things, like handing out scholarships to students and providing work programs and funding arts programs and that sort of thing. The Prince’s Trust is actually one of the largest foundations in the UK, and what’s even more interesting is that it’s not even Charles’ only foundation. Charles has a wide array of charities and foundations and patronages. He’s also turning 70 years old in November of this year. He’s been wanting to take a step back from his charities and foundations for a while – even back in 2015, we heard that Charles had asked William to take over The Prince’s Trust, but William refused. Since then, we’ve also heard that Charles would have been fine with Harry taking over some of the foundations’ work, but that Harry was more focused on his work with Sentebale and Invictus. So what will happen with all of Charles’ foundations? Will they just fade away as he takes on more “shadow king” responsibilities?
Prince Charles is doing less charitable work as he approaches his 70th birthday and starts filling in for the Queen. The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation handed out less than half the donations this year than it did during the previous year. In 2016 the foundation gave charities a total of £7.7million, compared with £3.1million in the 12 months to March, according to accounts.
Clarence House told the Daily Telegraph Charles, 69, is ‘reviewing’ his charity work as he takes on more jobs to support the Queen. A spokesman told the newspaper: ‘The approach of the Prince’s 70th birthday provided a sensible opportunity to review his charities to ensure that they continue to deliver the maximum benefit for those people they were set up to help. The review was also designed to ensure the Prince’s involvement was at the right level and had the right focus. This will ensure that the charities become sustainable with less necessity for the engagement of HRH on a day-to-day basis, and will contribute in building a lasting legacy of his philanthropic work.’
The Prince attended the most official engagements of all the royals last year – managing to make 546 in total. He is believed to have increased the number of events he goes to as the Queen, 91, reduces her workload. She has been slowly scaling back her duties over the past few years, reducing the number of official events she goes to by 11 per cent compared with last year, down from 332 to 296. Her husband Philip, 96, retired from royal duties in August after totting up 22,219 solo engagements since Her Majesty became Queen in 1952. As Charles appears more in public to support his mother, some his foundation’s major beneficiaries have seen a drop in support.
Building Community had their funding cut from £1.6million in 2016 to £545,000, according to Companies House. The Royal Drawing School’s grant was also cut, plummeting from £439,000 to just £93,000.
It has been my hope for some time that as William and Harry transition into keen, full-time working royals that one of them starts taking over Charles’ foundations instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and do their own separate things. William would be the obvious choice, considering he’ll eventually inherit the Prince of Wales title and the Duchy of Cornwall estate. But I suspect Harry is the one who needs to be persuaded, as he is the “persuadable” one. Harry is the one who is closer to Charles, and Charles reportedly adores Meghan Markle already. Maybe Meghan will convince Harry that they should take on more of Charles’ charitable work. Because it will just be sad if neither Will nor Harry takes over any of it, and Charles’ foundations just sort of fade away.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I feel bad for Charles in a way. To be 70 and still be waiting for the ultimate role of King. Not sure if the life he has would help sweeten it for me. But who knows.
I hope Harry and MM do take over some of Charles’ work. Because I don’t see The Keens wanting any more work on their plate.
I tell my mom about how people are upset with tithe work ethic and comparing the youngers to the queen and she fools her eyes and says it’s always like that and will never change: the small
Masses complain but the royals will
Not change. Sad. I hope she’s wrong.
I wonder The Queen is waiting so long? It seems rather selfish. Not simply for Charles, but for the people. They deserve a vibrant King. He’s having to scale back before he even takes the throne.
“Waiting so long” you mean why doesnt she just die?? Christ almighty…
Or, step down?
The Queen is believed to be anointed by God for life. She is not being selfish. She believes it is her duty.
The UK doesn’t have a tradition of abdication, like Denmark doesn’t. HM vowed to give her entire life to the country, so that’s what she’ll do.
“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” – from her 21st birthday speech
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has said this in a more amusing way. “I will remain on the throne until I fall off!”
Queen Margarethe is a hoot! I wish Celebitchy covered the Danes more.
QMII recently attended a costume ball as Columbine in a very colourful costume.
https://realityportalen.dk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/18-01-01-20-03-00-org-j6q7312-e1514901682672.jpg
She’s a royal I’d want to spend a day with. Drag her to a museum and have her tell me more about the exhibits than even the museum staff know.
So glad they could still do that party. I thought Henrik might be too ill/confused to do something they love so much.
When she became queen back in 1952, she made the promise to the British people that she would “devote her entire life to advance the happiness and prosperity of her people” . “She takes her lifetime commitment very seriously.
i have the utmost respect for the Queen, but it seems slightly power-hungry to insist on remaining on the throne your whole life, when it is clear that there will be a good chunk towards the end, where you may become less than optimal at the role.
I doubt there would be too many bitter complaints if she abdicated and passed on the crown to Charles, due to old age. It would be perfectly understandable. (IMHO)
I think that the best way HM can serve her people now is to step down and let Charles take over. When she was 21 and made that speech of dedication, I doubt it was within her contemplation that she would still be going at it when she was over 90. It’s time for her to pass on the baton. I agree with Bella Dupont. I don’t think people would complain much if she took a back seat after serving the country actively for so many years. She and Philip could have a bit of time to just enjoy life together. They deserve it.
The Queen is not power-hungry (the monarch has pretty much no political power). She takes her duty very seriously because her views on the subject were almost entirely shaped by Edward VIII’s abdication. She thinks that becoming king killed her father. (It contributed to it, but the war and the 40+ unfiltered cigarettes a day were much more likely causes). She won’t abdicate, but a soft regency is not out of the question.
How selfish of her to keep living.
You think she is being too selfish not to go ahead and kick off? Goodness.
I think it’s the part where he becomes King at a later age, rather than becoming King that he is worried about. His peers are at the retirement age but he has to be on point in terms of commitment and responsibility. His dad retired in his 90s after all. Of course being raised in luxury helps, but responsibility of head of state is still quite something. In a way, I kind of understand why Harry said nobody really wants to be King. Charles himself gave me the impression that he gets more wistful about his role as he ages, but he will step up nonetheless, in a very challenging time in the future. William, on the other hand, doesn’t even show the sense of duty as yet. Also, it is sad that he knows he is King only after his mother dies, likely due to as we get older, we really do not want to lose our parents. It’s a sucky feeling.
Andrew and Fergie’s daughters would benefit from taking this on. I don’t know if they have the skills or inclination but might be good idea. Let the kids of royals not in line to the throne work together on keeping Charles charities and foundations going.
This! I immediately thought of the York Princesses. I have this lofty dream of Harry and Meghan taking it on, changing the name to the Prince and Princess Trust and engaging all of the more peripheral family members in endeavors that are meaningful for them. This would be perfect for Beatrice and Eugenie and even the Wessex children. The Philips’ and Zara could even join in. A win-win for all.
But, then Will and Kate would probably throw a hissy fit at so many others being active. Or would they? Maybe they would like this idea of sharing and spreading the work. I am very well-versed with all-things-royal, but one thing I haven’t been able to find is how William and Harry feel about the downsizing of the monarchy. They seem to be warning the world that less charities will be supported in the future, but why not get more of the family involved?
That kind of contradicts Charles’ idea of paring down the monarchy to just the heir’s direct line though.
MM is very charitably-minded, maybe between the two of them she and Harry can keep all the balls in the air.
But she’ll be preggers soon, won’t she? And then, with a new babe, do you think she’ll want to work?
I think SHE should take it on. Solo. So Harry can focus on Invictus and Sentebale.
@Plantpal – She can do it while being preggers no problem if she is so inclined. She’ll have a staff who does most of the legwork for her.
William and Kate need to own this or maybe Harry and Will jointly. There is zero reason why it would make sense for Meghan to take this on, solo or as part of a pair.
Because W&K apparently don’t want it. Maybe Harry could be persuaded to take it on, or maybe he would sign up in name only and MM would be the brains behind the operation (I think I stole that from LAK). No reason MM can’t run the Prince’s Trust. It clearly does a lot of good, and it would be a shame for it to wind down or be scaled down after all the work that has gone into creating it and building it.
Harry isn’t the Prince of Wales or will ever be so it is William’s and he should be made to do it not saved by Harry or anyone else.
The idea that Harry can focus on Invictus and Senteble is no win one for him. They are worthy and admirable, but he still needs to take on his shared family resposibilities too, and actively support causes that benefit the home country. He can’t split off and do his own thing exclusively, that’s not how a family business continues to roll on generation after generation.
He and Meghan are interested in mental health and youth – right? That’s what we have been told. Plenty to do to get Heads Together rolling in the right direction. Plenty of established causes to go out and support, if he is sincere.
ee, I think those outside things need to continue to grow, but he definitely needs to be taking on more of the bread-and-butter none of them want to do. But Duchy and The Trust should never be his responsibility or burden; those are William’s responsibility alone.
Nope. This should all be the future Prince of Wales duty, and he should step up and do it. I think Wm and Catherine get a bad wrap sometimes, but if they aren’t willing to take over this, considering all that they “earn” from their titles, then I will gladly support a republic.
Dear Wills,
Get off your a$$ and get to work. If you want the perks of the job, you need to take on the responsibilities. Otherwise, step down.
The same of Harry his numbers of engagements where boosted by the fact they counted every invictus event he went to as a separate engagement even if he was there for 20 minutes he said him and Meghan didn’t go more than two weeks with out seeing each other when exactly did he work he can spend his time traveling going to weddings and on holiday where’s the effort
All the royals do this. They count every engagement no matter how long they stay, this is not just Harry. And with this type of counting Harry still does better than Will or Kate.
I believe Invictus events don’t count towards Harry’s work numbers. It’s considered a private cause, not part of his royal duties. At least, that’s what I’ve read before.
Stavra they weren’t counted until this year. He was doing all of that (which would have been counted as individual engagements for other royals), but not getting any official “credit” in the work totals.
This. As much as Harry might be the one who could be persuaded, it isn’t his job. It hasn’t been Anne, Andrew, or Edward’s job to do these things and it isn’t Harry’s. William will be The Prince of Wales, he will be the Duke of Cornwall. He will privately inherit all of Sandringham and all of Balmoral. In exchange for that, he has to do the royal work that comes with that position.
As much as Harry needs to work more, these things are NOT his job.
What NOTA said. Most of the puzzle pieces belong to WK. William being a person in his 30s and a father, should be embarking on a solid career path by now, like most of his peers. But he still seems reluctant to accept his path, nor forge his own.
In a holiday season chatty visit with someone I know who has a small but established slice of insider knowledge regarding Charles, the point made to me is that Harry would definitely be/ has for awhile been the one Charles sees handling certain key tasks and responsibilities including work related to this.
Once again, Harry would be doing the work William is supposed to do, while William gets the ultimate financial benefits of millions in private lands (Sandringham, Balmoral) while refusing to do the job.
@nota. It is pretty sad in a way, and reminds me of a couple of families I have known in which one child was the pampered lazy inheritor of business and property while the other child quietly plugged along doing the actual work and heavy lifting. It can happen when the family supports the off-kilter status quo.
That said William seems to relish the atttude of being the poor damaged child in a greedy, bad boy way. I say this not to diminish the trauma of the loss of his mother, but to say that it almost seems like he sees this mode of behavior as his “thing” now, cosseted within the Middleton cheese toast bosom. It seems like this is his comfort zone –always reverting back being a bit of a work-shy, mean-girl dick who needs all the extra cake because his mother died. Which in a man in his role of his age is now a little ugh. Maybe time or events will mature him eventually or help him comes to peaceful terms with his past and present.
so william is the “missing stair” of this family. So dysfunctional.
I mean seriously??? Think about it, William refused, refused??! This is what he was born to do, what he must do and he refused. The arrogance of him. I really feel that Diana would be ashamed.
And please, Harry will not be any different because of Meghan…the fact that people think this woman is some kind of Wonder Woman is ridiculous.
What is his excuse for not taking on some of this responsibility? How can he be okay with people and charities who were relying on that money from the prince’s trust getting less and less money each year? I would be way too embarassed and feel far too guilty to just say “Eh… no, I don’t feel like it,” when my 70 year old father asked me to start helping him run his foundation so that the people relying on that money don’t suffer. And it’s not like Charles wants to retire and just take it easy and that’s why he’s asking will to take it over—he’s helping his 90+ year old mother do the important work of being the Queen of England! I’d be especially embarassed since my family keeps taking more and more money each year (money that belongs to the people these charities are helping and that also comes from the father I’m refusing to help) for clothing, housing, renovations, vacations, nannies, and staff. He’s basically saying “I’m not going to do anything to help you, father and the people of Great Britain, but I am going to demand a bigger allowance from you, father, and from you the people who are asking for my help.” He’s such a loser. What does William think his job is if not to do the work that helps the people that God and history have appointed him to serve? Does he plan to do a lot more work once he’s actually King? Does he really think that this is the way it should work: that the most elderly members of his family should be doing massive amounts of work while he, a young and healthy man in his prime just sits back and spends the money?
Perhaps Charles will lay down the law? The Queen might be famous for burying her head in the sand when it comes to her family, but Will and Kate might find Charles a different kettle of fish.
Once Charles is king, will he not be able to give orders and expect them to be followed by his heir? Can he not flat out ‘tell’ William he is taking over the trust and expect his order to be followed?
@Lady D, sadly not. By law (a law from 1339) William will be entitled to the income from the Duchy of Cornwall as heir to the throne, and there will be nothing that Charles can do about it. The monarch cannot order anyone to do anything now. Parliament has all the power. So, for example, when they wanted to change the rules such that first born girls can inherit the throne, that had to be done through an act of Parliament (the Succession to the Crown Act 2013).
He can withhold the Prince of Wales title, but that’s it. They tried to change the Duchy inheritance along with succession in 2013, but I think that failed. It still doesn’t go to a first-born female,
That must be really hard for Charles, to have spent his life building up these charities and foundations and now they are kind of withering away because his sons wont step up to fill some of these roles. If Charles is backing away from his own work to take over some of his mother’s duties, it makes sense that William should take over some of Charles’s work. the Prince’s Trust is well established and it sounds like William could influence how the scholarships are funded or which programs are funded etc, so if he wanted to make his mark with it, he could.
Yeah I will never get Will. Firstly, I would be Keen to take over because my dad has already laid a good foundation. Secondly, don’t you feel a tinge of empathy to take some load off an aging parent? Thirdly, if he hates Charles, at least have the guts to admit he channels funds to you and your family, so at least be a dutiful professional royal and put aside your ego to help others? Nope, the boy is still sulking about….something.
I read that Charles was adamant about stripping her of her HRH and that it pained her…so much so that she confided in Wills and he told her he would return her title when he was King…
Diana gave up the HRH willingly for more cash, regretted it, and lied about it later. She took every penny he had in personal funds, plus some more he had to borrow from HM.
What nota said.
Found an old article about it so you know we aren’t fibbing.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1467785/Diana-took-Charles-to-cleaners-in-divorce-says-his-banker.html
Pertinent sentence:
“The Princess, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, was encouraged by Mr Julius to give up her title “Her Royal Highness” – a move she later regretted – in return for a better financial deal.”
Mr Julius was Diana’s divorce lawyer.
I guess it depends on which article you believe.
As the mother of the future heir, the divorcee wanted to keep the styling “Her Royal Highness.” Even Queen Elizabeth II agreed to the condition, but Charles was “adamant” about denying his ex-wife the privilege, according to the New York Times.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/news/a44146/princess-diana-royal-title/
Charles is a little worm and I believe he did in fact demand Diana give up her HRH.
LV487: Your article is extracts from the smearing accusations Diana labelled at Charles after the royals refused to give her back her HRH after she had voluntarily given it up in the negotiations. She egged the pudding further by claiming that William had either promised to return it when he was King or he didn’t care that she was no longer HRH depending on which outlet she was crying to.
It’s gone down as truth when the reality was completely different. Because the fact remains that it was never on the table until she offered it up on the advise of Anthony Julius, her lawyer.
She didn’t try to get it back until the loss of status realisation and when her efforts failed, she ran to the media to cry victim of those mean royals. Your article is verbatim things she told friendly media outlets at the time.
And Diana’s shenanigans moved HM to rise from her ostrich stupor to change the rulings on HRH divorces to strip it from anyone who divorced one.
One thing I want to do before I die is egg the pudding, I just might re-name the dog that. That was great, thank you. Like I stated, depending on which article one believes either Charles stripped Diana of HRH or she gave it up voluntarily, I don’t know. You seem to know more about the royals, so I’ll take your word for it. I will admit I admired Diana and dislike Charles so my viewpoint is skewed.
LV487: an argument can be made for both sides because both sides can be true despite the malicious way Diana presented the reality.
Ie She voluntarily gave it up, realised she’d have to curtsey to people all the remaining HRHs including people like Fergie and Princess Michael, and asked for it back and was refused.
The reason the royals can’t have been such meanies is that Fergie, who had disgraced the royals in ways much more damning than Diana remained an HRH post divorce. There was no question of removing it from her despite her banishment.
Fergie lost her HRH because of Diana’s media shenanigans that caused the Queen to change the law. And even so, no statement was ever put out that Fergie would henceforth not be an HRH. A change in the law is why she lost it, not because the royals demanded it.
And Fergie has continued to disgrace the family and she’s still welcomed to the table albight when Philip is absent.
I admit that i am biased against Diana because of her spite, malice and lies, but there are areas that i remain sympathetic to her because ultimately she was thrown in at the deep end without a paddle and had to figure her way out. I wished she would have navigated it with grace, but then again would we have done better under similar circumstances?
The way he treated their mum.. Don’t think they care about Charles’ little projects. Apart from skir chasing until he was like 50plus.
I don’t know why I never thought about this. Of course Will resents his father. I never detected a wedge but there has to be something unspoken. Now that Charles has married Camilla I can’t imagine it doesn’t come out in small ways.
That is a popular theory, but you’ll note William has no problem with infidelity (his own anyway). Ultimately I don’t think he cares how his parents treated each other; he cares how he perceives the fall out impacted him.
I have always thought that something happened or Will found out something about his dad. If you see photos from when William was a teenager and young adult he seemed close to his dad, then it just stopped.
I truly believe that Charles isn’t the innocent victim here.
How would the average person feel if their mother was tragically killed in a car accident and then you find out how poorly your mother was treated by your father and his family. Even if she was only partly responsible she will always be held up as the victim because of the way she died.
Everyone hates on Ma Middleton however, she is always around and maybe William really misses a mother role in his life.
@notasugarhere
I think the rift isn’t about adultery. There are things that can be done to people that are worse than adultery. In the upper English class adultery is pretty common so it’s nothing to get all worked up about, he is angry at his dad for something else I think.
My feeling is it is William the Petulant, just as he’s always been. Charles gave him leeway at University, study whatever you want not something useful to your role. The expectation that he’d commit to one branch of the military at graduation and start doing some royal duties during that time. Four years of blanket protection from the press, which Harry never got because he didn’t go to college.
William met the Middletons and spent another decade dodging his royal role. Charles is duty, responsibility, work. The cash cow with the sensitive self-image who doesn’t want to be cut out of his son’s life. Easily manipulated. Middletons are boatloads of free holidays and everyone treating William like a god instead of an employee with responsibilities.
I thinking was the pr campaign to get camilla accepted. Details of William meeting camilla were leaked. Possibly other things too but I don’t recall.
I know this is crazy…but I’ve thought the same about there must be something, right? I go to the conspiracy theory that the BRF had something to do with her death. I mean not directly. But the stripping of her HRH, the lack of proper security, the fact that the Queen did not want Diana to have a state funeral, that they were concerned with getting any jewelry back that belonged to the Crown etc. I mean that is a lot of stuff for a child/teen/man to unpack. The family is messed up. I don’t blame Will or Harry for being pissed, but then leave, abdicate. Do the noble thing if you feel so strongly. The fact that William just loafs is really despicable. He thinks he is sticking it to his family, but really it is the people that he is letting down.
The royals did not strip Diana of her HRH. She willingly gave up her HRH in exchange for a bigger divorce settlement. She lived to regret it and spun lies around it after the fact. HM is a stickler for protocol; if you are no longer a member of the royal family you don’t get a state funeral.
Homeslice: Diana wasn’t stripped of her HRH or security. She voluntarily gave them up as part of her divorce negotiations and determination to cut ALL ties with the royals and anything related. That’s also why she insisted on receiving her divorce settlement in cash rather than the usual settlement of allowance, property and assets.
It was only when Diana realised that lack of HRH meant she’d lost status to degree that she’d have to curtsey to *Fergie or Princess Michael that she realised the foolishness of what she had done and tried to walk it back. When the royals refused, she ran to the media and told sob stories about the mean royals ‘stripping her of her HRH’.
* Fergie was divorced with her HRH intact. It was never on the table for discussion and no one thought to ask for it. Infact, until Diana volunteered up her own, it wasn’t a matter for consideration at all for either party. After Diana’s media shenanigans with the HRH, the Queen added a caveat to the letters patent that govern these things that automatically stripped it from anyone who divorced an HRH royal. And thus the unfortunate Fergie lost her HRH. One could argue that Fergie remains an HRH since she didn’t give it up nor was it stripped from her, then or now. The law simply changed which meant she couldn’t use it anymore.
As for Diana’s security, the palace was always unhappy about her post- divorce arrangements especially with regards ability of paps to harrass her when she had no protection. The Palace offered several times to restore the security and she refused whilst spinning a tale of abandonment to the media. She also thought the security spied on her, another reason to justify her refusal to the public.
At the time of her death, she was a private citizen. If not for her public popularity, and the public reaction to her death, it wouldn’t be inconceivable that she had a private funeral.
I will agree that HM handled it badly and allowed Tony Blair and the media to create a crisis that very nearly spun out of control. HM gritted her teeth and gave into the public demand.
Imagine if it were Princess Margaret who died. Actually we do know as she died a few years after Diana. Private funeral. No fuss.
Or the very hardworking beloved Princess Alice, also died a few years after Diana. Westminster funeral. No fuss.
The jewellery thing is conflated with the divorce. Diana died a year after being divorced. The separation of state and private assets were still being organised. The financial settlement came through a few months prior her death, her apartment at KP was in the process of refurbishment. Her return from holiday that September was supposed to be the start of financial / estate/ career planning. Instead she died.
Milla, pix, and others: regarding how William doesn’t want to work or help his father bc he’s resentful of how Charles treated Diana or bc of some other incident later on: Doesn’t William have ANY feeling or sympathy for the British people and the charities that are suffering bc of his petty resentment? This is not a case of a son refusing to go into his father’s private business and help to make his father richer by working for him. William is a royal and will be King one day. When he doesn’t work, he is hurting the entire British populace and is hurting the image of the whole royal family. His bratty petulance might end up getting the monarchy absolved and then he and his entire family would be out of a job.
I still think Diana was killed. It’s British crown, why isn’t that a possibility? And she was with Al Fayed, so it’s also not impossible that he was a target.
I watched that infamous documentary several times, the unlawful killing, i think it’s called. It is interesting and confusing. No , I don’t think Cobain was murdered. I am not deep into conspiracy theories.
Amy, like his wife, he appears not to care about anyone other than himself and the chosen few in his immediate sphere.
Milla, Diana wasn’t “killed”. She chose not to have the security the royals begged her to have. She chose to get in a car driven by a drunk. She chose not to put on her seatbelt.
Not a sugar
I said it’s my opinion. I know the facts, but i watched Al Fayed’s father and it’s quite upsetting seeing how much he believes that it was a set up. Why would he try to make so much noise? It’s not like he’s looking for someone to blame. He could always blame the driver. But this man’s life stopped and he spent billions trying to prove that it wasn’t an accident. He was bullied by the press for two decades yet this man still believes that the truth is that there was no accident. I cannot just dismiss him.
Milla, Al Fayed had every incentive to believe that it was a set up. His son was dead. When your child dies, it is literally inconceivable that such a thing should happen. You will pursue every line of enquiry, blame anyone and everyone. Anything but the easy explanation. Anything but the sad and simple truth that his son got into a car driven by a drunk, and he didn’t put on a seat belt.
Why can’t they MAKE William do this somehow? They obviously can’t rely on his sense of duty and goodness. Can’t Charles cut his allowance or refuse to pay for certain things unless William starts actually working and helping him? In my house, if my child doesn’t do his chores, he doesn’t get his allowance. And folding socks and unloading the dishwasher is much less important than something like not letting the Prince’s Trust die and starving all of the people and charities that rely on it of funds.
Thank you LAK for your perspective! I agree, but am just brainstorming what may have been the tipping point for William? Do the facts matter to him or is he loyal to his mom to a fault…willing to blame everyone else? I do think there is a big rift between Charles and his sons (more so Will). I also think Will is self-loathing, as he sees a lot of father in himself.
@ Milla – if Diana had been wearing a seatbelt she would have survived. Try to kill someone in that sort of car in the middle of a city, even at night, is not the best or most efficient way of going about things.
@ LAK – Diana may well, with good reason, have complained about press intrusion but she was never above using them for her own agenda – the “I want to be queen of people’s hearts” interview looking from under those heavily made up eyelashes whilst trashing Charles’s suitability to be king (which the sons would have found out about), being a classic examples.
Yep!!
I can’t bear to re-watch that interview. Once was enough. It was so staged and ghourlish and those kohl rigged eyes as she batted them and sniffed as she said awful things about the royals! I’m still shuddering decades later.
So glad I am not the only one. Whatever sympathy I may have had for her earlier treatment, mainly went out of the window when I watched it.
Diana complaining about the press was part of her victimhood she liked to push. She knew it was unseemly to see to enjoy it. I told the story about someone seeing how she transformed herself when she knew the cameras were around. She created moments to push her agenda.
William is just a spoiled, paranoid weird volatile person who also likes being a victim. He is a grown man, and his pain is not more than anyone else’s or more significant.
He doesn’t get to spend millions with his gadfly wife and do nothing but throws it on Harry. If I were Harry, I would say I will do it, but I want a cut of some of the money from Cornwall. I was something in return. I would want William to give up something or else I would let him hang.
He’s been coddled and catered to his whole life, and if this is not what he wants, then he needs to abdicate and take his family to Norfolk.
He has options.
“they are kind of withering away because his sons wont step up to fill some of these roles”
this isn’t on his SONS, plural. the prince’s trust is william’s responsibility by birthright, as is the duchy management. it’s not harry’s to step up for, so he shouldn’t be slammed for it.
I don’t know how this streamline monarchy thing will work if he can’t even get his sons to do the bare minimum let alone get them to add more hand shaking and speech giving to their light as a feather schedules.
He’s isn’t even 70 yet? Cripes, I thought he was in his 80s. He looks it.
Nah. My dad is 71 and looks similar to Charles. Charles is a bit jowlier than my dad, but that’s it. In fact, I never noticed before now how thick his hair still is.
This just makes me super pissed off at William. What a loser good-for-nothing sack of crap he is.
LAK, Sixer. Do you think this signals a more formal (but legally informal) Regency is coming for Charles’s 70th birthday?
I don’t think it will ever be formal, legally or not. I think it will be a transitional/ transactional regency like the Queen’s own informal regency of her ailing father.
Thank you!
Perhaps Charles has told William to get his finger out and he resents it? If indeed there is a problem between them. And William knew a fair bit about his parents in his teens, between the press and Diana crying on his shoulder.
Haven’t you heard? working parents are bad parents. William will continue to do as little as possible.
Interesting that Kate isn’t being called upon to urge her husband to step up to his role, if not for his sake than for the sake of their son who will someday be King. William has no signature accomplishments of his own yet somehow seems to get less criticism and vitriol than his wife, his brother, and his future sister-in-law and his refusal to work is just accepted as fact.
Great points, all true.
I think he deserves the lion share of the blame, but there aren’t many stories about him because he does nothing. If he were solid, the others wouldn’t be left to be criticized for his piss poor attitude or laziness. He doesn’t protect his wife or his brother.
Believe me; would love a Billy B Normal story just to rant and rave about him with abandon.
I don’t understand what is actually stopping Charles from continuing to give money to the charity. He receives $17 million a year from the Duchy of Cornwall. If he can’t be hands on because he is filling in for the Queen, fine; but how does that impact the money??????
Charles does alot of personal fundraising for his charities and foundations. American style fundraising dinners where tickets cost upwards of £50K.
As he takes on more of HM and Philip’s duties, less time for him to do these bog ticket fundraising events which means the charities and foundations receive less money to give out.
Plus, whilst he is surprisingly hands on with his charities and foundations which in turn drives them. Not to say that they can’t do without him, but i think he assumed that the two men would take them on such that transition team to an independent structure was never explored.
Further, It looks like an independent structure was not explored even after the sons made it clear in 2015 that they wouldn’t take the charities on.
Regarding the money from the duchy, £19M doesn’t stretch very far when all lifestyles follow the *edwardian model. He employs over 165people in his personal life at the last count.
* Edwardian model = Downton Abbey
And i include his sons’ households in that tally.
Ok, thank you. I always thought the Prince’s Trust was administered and funded under the Duchy of Cornwall.
Hopefully one or more of the family will step up to the mark with regard to these charities. I have more hope for Edward doing more than either of the younger princes or, heaven forbid, Andrew!
If Charles is to be taking over more of his parents’ duties he can only stretch so far, and he is also past the age when most people have retired, something we seem to overlook just because his mother is in her 90s.
Will really doesn’t get it, does he? The BRF is a business; everyone has to do their part or the business ceases to exist. I would think taking over some of the POW charities would be a great fit for the “keen” Cambridges: staff in place in to do the heavy lifting, just show up to a few meetings and fundraising dinners, bulk up the numbers without breaking a sweat and everyone loves them for all their hard work. And a good “starter cause” for H&M: she looks like she’s hitting the ground running and he gets extra points for running his own charities while helping his dad. Maybe have Bea and Eugenie do the day-to-day administrative stuff while WKMH get the glamour gigs.
W&K act as if they are constantly surprised that people expect them to work for a living. But each person has had to at least pretend to carry their weights: Charles served in the Navy and then started his own foundations; Anne is the family workhorse; Andrew was in the Navy for about 20 years and has a foundation with Fergie and the girls; and the Wessexes had their own businesses before called back to the Firm and now are very involved with the DoE Award Scheme (which Edward will take over if he hasn’t already).
I’m glad Charles is taking over some of QE’s responsibilities. Although she will never retire or abdicate, she is slowing down and probably would like to make sure that the institution she spent her entire life serving will continue to thrive.
That’s interesting…I feel like QEII is pretty resigned that the monarchy will be very different when she passes. Surely, she knows that William the Reluctant is not keen to even help his aging father…what hopes can she have, really?
First up a caveat – I work for The Prince’s Trust (but this comment isn’t too represent any official view from them!)
One thing to note is that the Trust is huge and although HRH does also have a significant number of charitable organisations, The Trust is a charity that operates its own charitable programs as well as working in partnership with other charities. I do fundraising to bring in money for these – everything from e-mentoring and funding young people who have an enterprise idea but aren’t sure how to make it a reality, to Get into and Get Started programmes for unemployed 18-30 year olds to gain skills in areas like hospitality, construction, and retail, to Fairbridge who take referrals from social workers and prisons to help give young people skills and motivation to change their lives.
Charles is a figurehead, and to be honest a hardworking damn good one. The charity won’t fail without him, but there are major donors who love the fact they get to go to awards and receptions with a royal and although I personally don’t care all that much, I care that the money comes in to keep these programmes/grants/activities running.
I think it’s bonkers that anyone would pass up getting to take on figurehead of the Trust – yes it is sometimes slogging around to places like Stoke-on-Trent to shake hands and look at a freshly painted centre, but that centre will change thousands of lives, and Charles does do much more than that. He doesn’t run it day to day but he does strategically look at aims and has set the Trust an ambitious target of helping a million young people within the next few years; and 42 years ago he bothered to put the effort in to found a charity to work on youth unemployment and underemployment. So although I call him a figurehead he isn’t without value.
General consensus in office idle chat by the way is we think Harry will take over figurehead role, unless William pulls his finger out (most likely from being shamed) . The Trust needs some royals who will put the hours in visiting centres and hosting receptions and galas so if Meghan will help Harry with this, as seems logical, then bring them on!
The Trust is Charles’s pet charity though so we don’t expect him to give it up before he absolutely has to.
Thank you so much for commenting, CJ. I do hope lots of people read your comment.
Thanks for weighing in. I hope people do read this. It’s a nice sane comment full of good information on how Charles operates.
The figurehead role would be a perfect fit for Harry and Meghan. A great task they could take on together.
I fear the younger royals feel that they can throw up a few Instagram posts and call it a day, and the bread butter appearances will suffer.
Thanks for the kind words everyone – I’ve been reading CB for years but rarely comment.
I was always ambivalent towards the monarchy, but since seeing the impact of the Trust (which if a big charity but no means the only one that gets this much work from a royal) I do now appreciate the work they do.
Having prepared and read briefing documents for events, if the royals do their job properly even a simple meet and greet is actually more work that just turning up – yes staff will book transport, arrange briefing documents, do research on attendees/supporters, and confirm logistics, but it’s not actually that easy to retain information about a large number of different charities/programmes/people and deploy it in the most valuable way. It’s a skill to be able to remember pertinent things about everyone you come into contact with and make them feel welcome and valued. Fundraising and relationship management is a career and employability skill for a reason – with just the accounts I handle it can be mind-blowing trying to remember hundreds of people and their connections and why they support the Trust. Charles routinely does this, it’s important for any charity that anyone representing them is up to date with facts and looking for every chance to build and develop a relationship. For the big donor receptions the briefing documents will take hours to read and remember, and it’s especially important with major donors that they feel that their contribution is valued. And every event will have at least some briefing and key points to ensure happen.
I don’t envy Charles having to read, remember, and use all that information but he does it because he knows it’s what the charity needs from him. He’s not perfect or a saint, but I will give him that his work ethic is strong and personally I’ve seen him do the work needed for the Trust to be able to get the funding needed to support young people.
It just bugs me when every event a royal goes to is dismissed as shaking hands for a few minutes – some will be, and I can’t definitely say whether everyone takes their work as seriously as Charles, but when done properly there is a significant amount of behind the scenes work and skill involved on the day.
Rant over!
Thanks, again, CJ. I wish I could bookmark your comment.
It’s good to hear the actual good this Trust does. And royals do, in general.
The soft skills, the relationship management, are a real skill. The most successful royals are adept at it. I also agree, it takes some doing, but is so worth it.
I used to work in the Royal Reception Rooms at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. Once a month Queen Margrethe II (or Crown Prince Frederik, is she is out of the country) holds audiences for people who have received an order or a Medal of Merit for 40-50 years of service.
There are a lot of people at these audiences, sometimes up to 30. Each person get about 5 minutes with the monarch and they are always so happy when they exit the Audience Chamber because the Queen reads up on the briefs her staff has made on the people she sees.
So yes, that part is actual work if the royal in question cares about doing a good job and make other people happy.
vs William who has publicly admitted he doesn’t even read his prep notes. Didn’t know why he was visiting a certain entity in Canada until someone pointed out it was associated with a Diana charity he barely supports in the UK.
ArtHistorian, I had another idea for a book for you to write – one about Henrik’s jade collection. That would mean you could spend time with the collection, even though you couldn’t go visit it when it was on exhibit last year.
I’m convinced we need to turn you in to the biographer for Danish royal “things” (tiaras, jewelry, art collections, personal artworks).
They also have a large portrait collection!
And QMII own one of the most amazing paintings:
Aldertrees by L.A. Ring
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laurits_Andersen_Ring_-_Troncs_d%27aulnes.jpg
I love this painting. Fortunately, the Queen is generous when it comes to lending works from her collection to special exhibitions.
I love the tea you brought. Thank you for adding to the discussion 🙂
From my understanding, he isn’t scaling down, but just reassessing his “portfolio”of charities, as it has been quite some time since that has been done. I read that he may be moving on from some, but also adding some new ones. Hmm…not sure, though.
I really think there’s a possibility that Charles could die before the queen.
Having William and Harry take over Charles’ obligations is like a parent expecting his children to be lawyers just because their father is too. William and Harry should be able to choose what they want to do with their time or if they don’t want to do anything and get crucified by the public.
That’s fine. But that means they no longer get to play with Daddy’s credit card, either. That’s how the world works.
Well, not really. They’ve retained their titles which means they are expected to do the job, which is acting as Presidents and Patrons of charities.
It’s more comparable to someone keeping their professional title despite not practicing or keeping up the required professional development e.g. an accountant who doesn’t complete the required CPD can’t continue to use their professional suffixes. I’m a qualified lawyer but haven’t chosen to stay in law for my career so I don’t use the professional titles/suffix.
I agree it’s difficult as they’ve basically inherited a job, but they are grown adults now and if they don’t want to do the job they can do what everyone else does and look for another job, giving up the benefits that come with the old one.
They are 35 and 33 years old. Old enough, beyond old enough, to have decided on what path to take in life. Retain the titles, the perks, and the positions, and take on the jobs associated with them, or make a decision to forge a new path.
They choose to stay in these roles with the resulting perks. On William’s part? He stands to privately inherit all of Balmoral and all of Sandringham – without a penny of inheritance tax. That is what he gets in exchange for stepping up and doing the job associated with the other side of that bargain – becoming Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales and doing the work associated with those titles.
They are free at any time to walk away, take their private inheritances, and move to a country where no one is allowed to photograph them in public. Ban Fergie and Andrew permanently from the UK and hand the throne to Beatrice. Don’t like that, pick another line (but not Anne’s because Peter is just as idiotic and entitled as William IMO). Lady Louise for Queen?
The Prince’s Trust is something Charles started on his own. Now that the Queen is scaling back her duties, Charles as heir has to take over those duties. Since those other charities were his thing I don’t think the kids have any obligation to take over the charities as patrons because it should be things they want to be patrons of. Eventually William will have to take on more duties that are traditionally the Crown’s responsibilities but not prince Charles’ personal charities.
The Duchy is not his personal thing, it is the Duchy of Cornwall. The Prince’s Trust is the Prince of Wales Trust complete with Prince of Wales feathers as the logo. Charles’s strong management of The Duchy is why there is $4 million a year in income for W&K to spend on nannies and household staff.
These things are William’s responsibility to take over, seeing as he’ll benefit from his royal position to the tune of millions in privately-owned lands being handed to him without inheritance tax (Balmoral, Sandringham).
Don’t remember who speculated on here that Zara was pregnant? Very Happy to admit I was wrong when I disagreed. Zara and Mike Tindall announced this morning that they’re expecting again.
I was one of them…tee hee!
;
From the front it looked like extra pounds from Mia. I’m always surprised when women who have had a previous miscarriage take long-haul flights in the early stage of pregnancy. Yes, air travel may be mostly safe when you’re expecting, but it still surprises me. CP Victoria avoided flights when expecting Estelle, after Daniel made comments about getting and staying pregnant that hinted at miscarriage. That’s why I was surprised she flew to South American when expecting Oscar.
Yes, the long haul flight for somebody who has a history of miscarriage is a surprise. I suspect the trip is linked to endorsements and sponsorship and therefore the family income.
Is William qualified in any way to take over any estate management, business matters or knowledgable about international issues? What IS he good at or interested in? I get no vibes from either William or his wife about any burning interests or skills. No passions. Do they speak any other languages? If you were employing an Ambassador for your company or country, would Bill even make the interview shortlist?
The headline is rather misleading. Charles has to scale back on some of his charitable work in order to take over more of the duties of his nonagenarian mother! So William and Kate, supported by Harry and Meghan need to take some of it over. I am quite sure that the things Meghan will become patron of have already been sorted and will be announced after her marriage and pronouncement of becoming a Royal Duchess. The Palace plans everything very well ahead and have known for many months that Harry had chosen his life partner. I am sure Charles is pleased that an enthusiastic person like Meghan will be on the team.
Also the Fabulous Four will need to do fewer joint engagements with their spouses and more solo ones in order to spread the work load. I bet that within 12 months Meghan will be doing solo engagements.