Sky News: Is Prince William still ‘work-shy’ or is he now Statesman Bill?

Britain's Prince William speaks with service users during a visit to the Garden House part of the Light Project in Peterborough, England, Thursday, July 16, 2020. The Garden House offers information, advice and support to the rough sleepers in Peterborough.

Sky News’ royal reporter Rhiannon Mills did a *fascinating* piece a few days ago. The piece was called “Has the duke left behind his ‘Workshy William’ title for good?” It’s about, you guessed it, whether Prince William is still lazy as hell. Mills writes that her sources – mostly other royal reporters – say that William is suddenly keen, and that the pandemic has been good for him because he can Zoom from home and that means he “works” more. Who knew that all of this time, William would have gladly taken on more work if that work was just a weekly Zoom call? Some highlights from the story:

Watching William speak to emergency responders: As I watched him talk to rescue volunteers about mental health support, the subject of COVID-19 of course came up. The pandemic has had a significant effect on the reputations of many politicians and public figures, and that includes the Royal Family and the Duke of Cambridge. Only a couple of years ago, headlines described him as “workshy William” – suggesting he was reluctant to take on royal responsibilities full-time. Gradually that view has changed, but this time of national crisis has in many ways accelerated that shift.

William has relaxed: The Royal Family has had to adjust to working in different ways, but who would have expected to see William and Kate being bingo callers on a Zoom call, playing the machines at the amusement arcade at Barry Island, or William laughing with Peter Crouch over a curry at Kensington Palace? Like his wife Kate, William has appeared more relaxed and, some might say, more relatable. This new way of working from home seems to have suited the Cambridges.

William seems empathetic now? As Tessy Ojo, chief executive of the Diana Award said to me, William has come across as one of us, and shown what he has to offer as a future king. She said: “He really shows his own style, and his style is completely different from his mother, I mean from his father, or his grandmother. Our world has changed and people want to feel that they matter and that’s the thing that he constantly portrays – that your pain is my pain, even though I can’t exactly walk in your shoes, but I can bring the spotlight to your pain to help alleviate it.”

He’s a statesman? In recent years we have seen a statesmanlike shift in William’s demeanour, particularly on overseas tours to countries like Pakistan but also in his recent speeches, like the one he gave when he remotely opened the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Birmingham. Some of that will be down to William himself, but his former private secretary Simon Case has also been credited with helping that change. He recently left to head up the civil service, but I understand he will continue to advise the Duke.

Does he still wish he could be a gentleman farmer? Emily Andrews, royal editor at The Mail on Sunday, told me this week that when she was writing stories for The Sun a couple of years ago about William being a reluctant royal, one source said to her that William wanted to live the life of a gentleman farmer. It reminded me of how the Queen’s friends have often said that if she hadn’t been the monarch, she would have been happy just living in the countryside with her dogs and horses. You could say that Prince William, just like his grandmother, knows that service and duty must come first. That includes championing causes that he believes deserve more public attention during these difficult times.

[From Sky News]

I mean… this is the deal everyone made. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge successfully exiled the Sussexes so that Will & Kate would have all of the attention, all of the embiggening, all of the keenness. The Queen went along with it. Charles went along with it. And so now we’re seeing that deal come to fruition – Will & Kate are all they’ve got, in every sense. And no, I don’t think William is suddenly less work-shy this year. He Zooms some and he’s done a handful of public events, and beyond that, we have no idea what or who he’s doing (hint: rose-trimming). But at least Kate isn’t the only one getting these kinds of vague embiggening stories. Statesman Will, No Longer Work-Shy Will, Keen Bill.

Prince William meets with Chiefs of the PSNI, Fire Service and Ambulance Service in Belfast

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.

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125 Responses to “Sky News: Is Prince William still ‘work-shy’ or is he now Statesman Bill?”

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  1. Ariel says:

    If the royal family is deposed and 97% of their wealth is redistributed to the poor in their country, would lives of people in that country be better?
    Probably.
    B/c other than providing lazy journalists and creepy palace insiders with a paycheck- what are these inbred idiots doing?

    • kelleybelle says:

      Exactly.

    • Bread and Circuses says:

      A lot of their wealth is actually the heritage of England. They don’t own it so much as act as its custodians.

      For example, if certain jewels are given to a woman marrying into the family, the deal is she doesn’t get to sell them, and those jewels are bequeathed back to the royal family upon the woman’s death. It’s a loan for life, but only a loan.

      And the country gets a lot of tourism dollars from having a monarchy. It’s a bit like the constellation of jobs that surrounds a pop star; it might be just one person who draws in the crowds, but there are hundreds of people taking home a pay-cheque after the concert is over.

      • Panda says:

        Those hundreds of people have the skills to obtain jobs working for employers that possibly have integrity.

      • Melissa says:

        Few of us have the luxury of securing employment based on the integrity of the employer. Otherwise Disney wouldn’t have employees. Or FB, Apple, Nike etc.

      • Becks1 says:

        I thought multiple studies had debunked the whole “royals bring in tourism” outside of big events like the Sussex and Cambridge weddings (which happen once every 20-30 years). People go to Versailles. No one thinks they’re going to go to Buckingham palace and actually meet the queen. It would still hold appeal without the royals.

      • Jackie says:

        If tourism is the best reason for the political structure of a country, then that country’s got serious problems

  2. Aurora says:

    Some lucky people can’t take a bad picture but poor Will can’t take a good one. He literally has no good angles and his expressions are limited to haughty and constipated.

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      I concur.

    • Seraphina says:

      I also think his true self comes through in the pictures (for whatever reason) and he always looks like a pompous ass.

    • Myra says:

      Someone once commented that he looks like a big toe and ever since, that is all I see when I see his pictures. And yes, he is still workshy, the PR around him has massively improved since May 2018 however.

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      His face has morphed into Family Guy’s “Quagmire” character (who funnily enough, also tries to “trim all the rose bushes” he can.

      It is said, by 40 you’ve got the face you deserve. I don’t see an ounce of warmth, joy, love, or compassion on Willileak’s face, ever. The most we get is that feral “grimace” that passes for his smile. And while the fact that those Windsor horse teeth may be too big for his small, mean mouth, it still gives that affect (in my eyes). The ONLY thing PWT shows any “passion” for is the pints of lager he lifts with football buds, and then, they look/act like a pack of frat boys.

      PWT has NO gravitas that would make you take him seriously, and all the “embiggening” in the world isn’t going to change this, IMO.

    • Eugh says:

      He looks like my ophthalmologist LOL

    • Natters5 says:

      When he was younger and had hair, he was actually good looking. Now he looks like he is dying of a slow disease. Kate can have him!

    • Tessa says:

      He is no longer the Golden Prince, none of his parents’ work ethic, innovativeness and charisma.

  3. Elizabeth Regina says:

    Poor Willileaks. He is simply not fit for purpose in a modern world. As the older generation he and his mannequin ‘appeal’ to die off, the monarchy will find itself more irrelevant and outdated. To make matters worse, they are the laziest pair and they were stupid enough to run off the most hardworking pair. I give it a few months till the tabloids fully turn on him. What a mess.

    • Princess Peach says:

      He will sacrifice Kate and the Middleton crew before he will let them come after him.

    • Tealie says:

      I agree this stiff upper lip and classism schtick is only really gonna pull them through till the older generation dies, then they are fucked.

    • PlainJane says:

      You say Willieleaks, and I suddenly think of Depends.

      Otherwise, I get absolutely nothing of consequence from all the words SkyNews has put forth.

    • L84Tea says:

      Literally the only thing he has ever had going for him is that he is Diana’s son. That’s it, and with his boyish good looks gone, it’s no longer enough to cut it.

  4. Sofia says:

    I agree that William (and Kate) would rather be like their (rich) aristo peers: titles and land but no responsibility and answering to anyone.

    • mytwocents says:

      Pippa got the better deal, Kate must be really jealous (again, Meghan, Pippa, Rose… my goodness she must be bitter).

  5. Ginger says:

    He hasn’t worked any more than he normally does. He is still lazy.

  6. Amy Bee says:

    I wonder what prompted the commissioning of this story? All I got from it is that William prefers to do Zoom calls.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      the PR machinations at work. they are doing a precis of his work over the past year and presenting him to the public as a future king. as we all know the british media is in bed with the royal family so these kinds of fluff stories should come as no surprise.

      no mention of *cough cough* Earthshot.

      • Amy Bee says:

        The more I think about it, all I’m getting is this story is KP’s way of re-inserting William into the conversation which has been dominated by Harry and Meghan for the last few months. I’m not sure alluding to him being work-shy and preferring to do Zoom calls was the right way to go but this is KP we’re talking about.

  7. Jess says:

    The fact that work shy Wills has come back in the headlines seems like a set up. The fact that the media is using that term again is really suspicious along with the fact that zoom calls are involved in the article to create the illusion that he’s stepping up is again suspicious.

    I wont be surprised if the BM turns around and say “we take it back Will isnt stepping up he’s just doing zoom calls which really arent work at all”

    It feels like a set up from the BM. When Meghan was still a working royal, the BM suddenly forgot these nicknames. Now that she’s out, these names are coming back + daily mail readers bashing Kate due to choosing a BLM pic for her photography competition (the pandering is strong in this lmao but lets be shit to the WoC in the palace).

    • Edna says:

      Wait. Kate included one BLM picture in her photo competition and got bashed for it?

      • Sofia says:

        Bashed on daily fail comment section. Which they were going to do anyways because it’s the daily fail after all

      • Original Jenns says:

        She is getting bashed for it because BLM are a “terrorist” group (unlike some of the fine Nazis), and no one is observing the hypocrisy. Nice way to profit off of this while literally not doing anything to help. Most comments are simply complaining that she is the Duchess of Cambridge and calling her Kate Middleton is high treason to the FFQC.

        I read that she really hasn’t done any of the work behind this project, it was created and set up by one company, then the Museum she’s a patron of ended up taking it over, so at most, she’s selected a couple of pictures. And who knows if she’s even the person doing that. Sorry. The ungratefulness of they for their positions irks me to no end.

      • HeatherC says:

        Her supporters are on Twitter calling the whole project “historic”

    • VS says:

      @Edna — why shouldn’t she be bashed for it? at least, people should laugh at her hypocrisy! how anyone take any of these two seriously is just mind blowing!

      The trashy tabloid could do as they wish with these two and it wouldn’t be half of what they deserve!

      • Bella DuPont says:

        I couldn’t disagree more. It’s the first worthwhile thing she’s done in years, as far as I’m concerned. We bashed the Royal family for hiding behind the sofa at the height of the protests, I think it’s horrible to start bashing the one who creeps out from behind the sofa.
        For once, I am proud of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. 😘🥰

      • Sam says:

        @Bella this is performative PR nothing more. She promoted a picture that someone told
        her to promote. This was a test case. Showed their PR (who are really bad at their jobs) that their fans will hate this and others will call her out for not doing enough before.

        Doubt we will see more of this.

      • Feeshalori says:

        Nice that she’s dipping her toe in the water, but if Kate really cared and wanted to make a difference, she would have supported her POC sister-in-law. That’s when she should have put her money where her mouth is!

      • mytwocents says:

        Kate didn’t pick the photos herself, it was a team of 4. She probably had nothing to do with it.

      • Bella DuPont says:

        @ Sam

        I have so many disjointed thoughts on this and so little time to post, so apologies and here goes:

        – Of course its performative PR for Kate. She doesn’t have to be honest for this to be an asset. The fact is that we are in a war against a very tough enemy in racism and we need every voice and everybody pulling together to beat it.

        – Meanwhile, racists everywhere are getting bolder and bolder. Progressives need to know when to perform our purity tests and this is *exactly* the wrong time to be criticising someone for speaking out against evil.

        – Let’s be honest here, it was bold of her precisely because as you pointed out, her fans are likely to (at least initially) hate this. If she continues to push thd message (in whatever subtle, ‘royal’ way she can, it’ll legitimise the movement in the eyes of these people, in ways that Meghan could never do. In fact, I would suggest that as fantastic as Meghan’s BLM message was, she was mostly preaching to the converted. Kate’s message (and it was her message as she posted it) will be far more powerful in softening minds.

        – I know most of us here are not fans of the Duchess (neither am, in general), but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t recognise an opportunity/asset when we see one, in this case, in Kate and the BLM movement. I really hope she presses on with this, which is why I’m appealing to any BLM supporters to please stop attacking people who show support, no matter how hypocritical it seems to you.

        – Going back to your point about it being performative, isn’t that the point though? To stand up and declare or take a stance publicly, with the intention of garnering attention to that standpoint. As far as I’m concerned, the more performative the better. (I don’t give a damn if she’s being honest or not, it makes no difference to me or the outcome). But let the world see the Duchess of Cambridge declaring that BLM.

        Hope at least some of that made sense, I will try and articulate myself better next time!

      • Feeshalori says:

        Perhaps she didn’t choose the photos herself, but l still find it somewhat jarring. But now it’ll be interesting to see what she’ll do going forward to throw her weight more behind these type of issues. And maybe one can dream she’ll put out some message of support now for Meghan.

      • Nic919 says:

        Until she does a video interview explaining why she choose the BLM photo I won’t actually believe that she made any decision and just went along with the other three who did the real work. It’s performative on her end though to do this, especially because she’s been horrible to Meghan, the only POC she’s had to interact with at an equal level. So she should be called out for her hypocrisy but we know that’s not what the DM commenters are criticizing her for. W and K have never acknowledged their white privilege so anything they say in racial issues is pure bs. Harry is aware enough to comment on his privilege and he’s been attacked for it, but it’s part of the work that they all need to do to be taken seriously.

    • Nana says:

      Bashed bc of racist Daily Fail commenters or bashed for coming very late and very performatively to the BLM issue? Being the DF, I presume it’s the former, but wish I were wrong.

      • Becks1 says:

        The DF commentators are bashing her because they’re racist and ignorant, but a good deal of people on twitter are also bashing her because the royal family did not say one word about BLM and have been exposed for being racist and backwards due to Sussexit .

      • Bella DuPont says:

        The thing is, how can you expect them to say something if we’re only going to tear them apart in response? She’s come late to the party, sure. But now that she’s here, let’s welcome her with open arms because quite frankly, we need her. Despite the criticism, her standing up for BLM *will* shift the debate as well as a few minds. Its tough to admit it, but its the truth.

        Now, if her lazy husband and his family can grow a pair and join in, then we’ll really be talking. 😀😀

      • tolly says:

        @BellaDuPont: “open arms”? No. Its is necessary to acknowledge both the gesture and the timing. Wearing a mask was a good thing, but it is important to note that she did so in August, not April. Likewise, posting a BLM photo might get through to some of her Little England fans, but the protests started in May and it is now September. She did not show leadership on these issues. She made late, tiny gestures and she deserves proportionate praise.

      • Becks1 says:

        I don’t think including one picture of a BLM protest means that she “standing up for BLM.” It feels performative. There were lots of things she and William could have been doing over the past few months to prove that “shes here” with BLM. She did none of them. And, it was a panel of judges who picked the pictures, not just Kate.

        Is this better than nothing? Sure. And it IS a good picture. But lets not go crazy with the praise for Kate literally doing the least she could possibly do to support BLM.

        If she follows this up with more discussion, with more action – then I will take back my cranky comments and acknowledge this moment as the beginning of her being more active on social issues.

      • Sofia says:

        @Bella: It’s one picture exactly how many months later? Not to mention, her entire image rehab (from “Waity Katie” to “Catherine the Great”) was done at the expense of driving a half black woman out of the country.

        I’d rather she shut up.

      • CrazyHeCallsMe says:

        Didn’t the crazy Royalists also complain about a BLM dance performed on British television? I thought I read there thousands of complaints lodged.

      • Nic919 says:

        Harry said something about acknowledging his privilege so the others can do that too Including one photo with no comments for it is performative nonsense that is meaningless unless she matches it with real action.

      • Feeshalori says:

        Yes, actions speak louder than words. Otherwise, this is just a meaningless token gesture and nothing else.

    • NatureLover says:

      @ Jesse, I think that the only purpose of this apparently historic revelation of Willileaks apparently keen to work is a counter action by the RR and the PR puppets of Willileaks to counter the fabulous amounts of works and projects in the making regarding Harry and Meghan! God forbid that they shadow Willileaks and her Keeness across the pond! Willileaks has become much more work savvy now? I call BS to all of this as nothing but a pandering of desperation from the PR and RR to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Willileaks will be an upstanding future monarch, as he tries to head to the rose bushes at a moments notice.

  8. Züri says:

    There is not one thing about Workshy Willie that says “statesman” or even “diplomatic.” He’s riding on the coattails of his title and nothing else.

    • Sarah says:

      How many examples do we have of him not bothering to read his briefing notes? The bar is super low and he can’t even be bothered to meet that.

    • Tealie says:

      He’s riding on the coattails of liz’s legacy, people only like/are intrigued in the monarchy because of her, once she’s gone it’s middle fingers to the wind.

    • Nic919 says:

      He downplayed and joked about Covid in Ireland in early March when many had already died in Europe…. that is the opposite of a statesman. He’s an idiot.

    • Züri says:

      @Sarah @Tealie @ Nic919 : all excellent points! I can’t believe that this buffoon, who lives on taxpayer funds, gets so many passes for being such a deadweight.

  9. S808 says:

    All the hype of with none of the work. I do wonder how long this’ll last cause what’s in it for the press?

    • Britt says:

      The press don’t want to admit that the Cambridge’s are not the couple with the interest and star quality but that’s who they are stuck with. They have been cut off by the Sussexes and will never see that exposure and mania again. In my opinion, the press is just biding their time to attack because praising Will and Kate is getting old fast.

    • Sarah says:

      It feels very emperors new clothes. Just keep harping on about how amazing they are and hope you convince enough people. Let’s be honest, there are plenty of people out there more than happy to buy this nonsense.

  10. ABritGuest says:

    I can see why being able to do more from home was good for William like for many workers but even then feel like he’s done the bare minimum& not much has stood out to me apart from joking about covid in Ireland, Uber driver and sniper joke for that football podcast and being a government prop by promoting going to the pub. I did like snippets from that bingo call but can’t see how these zoom calls show a great statesman.

    Of the UK royals I was more impressed with Sophie‘s volunteering and Kate’s baby bank initiative. Couldn’t see why there wasn’t more of this from them& posters here had loads of good ideas especially for Kate to hop on.

  11. Florence says:

    Still work shy, still a PWT.

  12. Seraphina says:

    To refer to William as a statesman is to insult the intellect of the readers and of true statemen. One thing is for sure, these writers are keep a living spinning up fairytales about Wills the great Statemen and Kate the Great.

  13. Izzy says:

    Eventually the pandemic will start to fade – it may be a year or two from now, but it will. And when it does, he will have to come out of the palace and start working again. I’m not holding my breath for any sharp increase in outings; he’ll probably still find excuses to do Zoom events as much as he can get away with.

    • HeatherC says:

      I think when the pandemic fades enough and travel is again a thing, we’ll see a lot of tours. They get to go somewhere (with or without the kids), wear pretty clothes (except when Kate is in Ireland for some reason) and show up at places, reminding the rest of the Commonwealth that they are the future of the monarchy.

  14. Lizzie says:

    So much fluff it could float away. Did Carole write this? I sounds just like a embiggening Kate article.

  15. The Duchess says:

    I’m convinced the press are trolling him again. Nobody has dared to call him ‘workshy’ since early 2017, so it’s hilarious how it’s all started back up again. PWT is no statesman, he’s an egotistical maniac who’s always making himself look stupid. Also, those unflattering pictures do him no favours! Is he that incapable of looking after his appearance?

  16. NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

    Wills described as a “reluctant royal” tells me he’d happy if the monarchy fell apart.

    I’ve been wondering for awhile if Wills has any real interest in keeping the monarchy going? It feels like Wills lacks the one thing required to be a King: charisma. Even his pedo uncle Andrew has charisma. Wills just does not have it in him to put people at ease in the way a King does. I understand as a royal it may be more important to have restrained charisma but there is just nothing in Wills in these photos. No passion, no heart, nothing, and his body language suggests he’s pissed and closed off to his audience. Is Wills truly work shy or do people just not want him around because he lacks charisma?

  17. Jay says:

    This seems like damning him with faint praise – given every single privilege and unlimited opportunity, he now does slightly more than nothing! Low expectations for the win.

    This “gentleman farmer” thing is new – didn’t he admit last year that he was totally ill-equipped to take on Charles’ farming projects? Also, his dad somehow manages to be a gentleman farmer and do his royal duties as well, the difference is having the interest, learning the skills and dedicating the time, none of which William seems to do.

    If I sound bitter, it’s because William reminds me of the many, many people who have said to me over the years “Oh, I would LOVE to be a teacher – summers off!”.

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      HAHAHA! Jay, I got that, too… and these:
      “Oh, you work bankers’ hours! You’re off by 2:30! ”
      “You’ve got most of the day left to loaf!”
      “You get all holidays off, summers..I wish I had your job!!!”

      It made me furious!

  18. Becks1 says:

    LOL, of course he wants to be a gentleman farmer. That’s been obvious from the start. He wants to be rich and lazy and hang out with other rich people in the countryside and play polo and hunt pheasants etc. And so far….that’s basically what he’s been doing. Even when he was working more, pre-pandemic, he still wasn’t working a lot.

    Anyway, I find this story very interesting because it seems so forced – like she was told to write a story about William being the future future king so she added in all these tidbits about how he “used” to be lazy and didn’t want to work, but he’s really changed so much guys, I promise, look, he’s zooming once a week!!!! He’s ready to be king!!!!!!!! Nothing lazy about this guy, nope, hardest working royal ever.

  19. Britt says:

    I’m sorry but if that family thinks that the press won’t turn on them because of some stupid agreement, they’re more deluded than I thought. You have articles trolling and slowly coming to the surface secrets that won’t stay buried for long. Everyone is over the media bashing the Sussexes. The media is just waiting for the moment to strike because in my opinion, they’re angry they’re stuck with the Cambridge’s because no one cares, no matter how much they try. They had a money train with the Sussexes and blew it up.

  20. Seraphina says:

    I think that last pic of him with his hand and eyebrow say it all: what do you mean WORK?

    Let us all face the sad truth, this man (and his wife for that matter) have NEVER worked an honest day in their life. We are not speaking of a couple in their 20s, they are in their late 30s (soon to be 40s) THIS is their life and they really aren’t going to change.

    • Chelle says:

      That’s what kills me. Both William and Kate are nearing 40 and they are still treated as young 20 year olds trying to find their way. I get the nature of PR, but what’s ironic is that these stories and narratives are being peddled by people who are of a similar age or who have worked in their chosen fields since they were in their own 20s. Yet, the cut Will and Kate so much slake. When I honestly thing of William, I think about Paris Hilton.

      Those with immense or comfortable wealth (where they never have to work) aren’t under any pressure to work or develop themselves career wise. That’s fine. That’s ok. Yet this constant stream of “they are coming into their own; they are more serious than ever; working like a top CEO or the look of an elder statesmen” is just tiresome exaggerated fluff. Speaking of the top CEO. . . where has she been?

      • Sofia says:

        Thing is, being a senior working royal is a /job/. You go out and wave to people and in return those same people heavily subsidise your lifestyle through their taxes. They’re not even 40 and are the future future King and Queen yet in previous years William has been outworked (for the most part) by two 60-70 year olds, the 90 something old monarch, three (now two) 50 year olds and works the same as another 60-70 year old. Heck Camilla even outworks Kate at some point.

        No-one is really asking these 2 to do 500 engagements a year but they can both definitely do another 50-100+ engagements than what they’re currently doing. And again, no-one expects or is asking these 2 to do big projects. They’ll me much better doing to the ribbon-cutting stuff but they don’t seem to want to do that either.

      • tolly says:

        “peddled by people who are of a similar age or who have worked in their chosen fields since they were in their own 20s.”
        This! The people who write these stories are holding down real jobs during the pandemic, and it is probably not “easier” for them. I think that some of the shade coming across here (and in the Tatler story) reflects the fact that the authors’ circumstances have changed a lot since the last round of KP fluff, and it is harder to fake enthusiasm for the Cambridge’s minimal efforts.

      • Nic919 says:

        If we compare William’s work ethic to that of his father and uncles and aunt, he’s miserably behind. And nothing has improved since the pandemic. His numbers are lower than last year even adding all the alleged zoom meetings.

        He’s just lazy and the press referencing the term “work shy” which they haven’t done since 2016, is a bit of a warning on their end. They didn’t have to mention that phrase but they did.

      • Feeshalori says:

        I’m just waiting for the press to resurrect “throne idle” which they’ve also used in the past for William.

      • ravynrobyn says:

        @ CHELLE-Paris Hilton USED to do some kind of work, a HELL of a lot more than PWT ever did-of course, bar is sooooooo loooooooow.

  21. tee says:

    He seems like the type of dad that “works” more to avoid spending too much time with their kids/families. Especially with the children always home, I imagine it’s much harder to miss those tough moments and show up just in time to be the “fun” parent. I think they admitted as much when they revealed Kate was taking up much of the burden in teaching/entertaining the kids in quarantine.

  22. starryfish29 says:

    William becomes a statesman almost as often as Kate comes out of her shell.

  23. aquarius64 says:

    The BM can embiggen the Cambridges all they want. These puff pieces do not get traction in the serious press outside the UK. People and Vanity Fair don’t count. That’s bad for a future head of state and consort. The Firm is panicking

    • Britt says:

      Yep. Meghan making a speech at a UN virtual summit and a smart works collection anniversary zoom meeting is breaking news even in Britain. I think the firm is panicking too because they know it’s not going to be embiggening praise for too much longer. The world is the Sussexes oyster and the attention will always be on them.

    • NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

      I think a lot of us on the mainland view the UK and the British royals like a trainwreck. The British royal family is here to entertain the continent. They are seen as otherwise the most trashy of royals and the most out of touch. It’s like watching some trashy talk show. I’m from Denmark and while we have similar discussions regarding our royal family, they are overall respected and loved.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        The BRF is pretty much a royal soap opera for us on the continent. They’re entertaining because they are messy – but I’d be super pissed if I had to pay for the Windsors.

    • Lady D says:

      The only way W&K can get good press moving forward is by (lmao) working their butts off. It’s the only way they are going to change the way they are perceived. Kate doesn’t seem to realize she could make herself almost divorce proof just by getting off her ass and working. The more contact she has with the public, the more they will admire and love her and want her around. I’m kind of surprised no one has suggested this to her.

  24. Merricat says:

    The bit that stood out to me was William’s supposed “empathy.” No one has to tell you that Harry is empathetic, you can see it in his tenderness with people, the way he looks at them, talks to them, touches them–very genuine, very uncomplicated. But William has never been empathetic, has never shown real interest in anyone beyond himself, just in what benefits him. I think that’s somewhat understandable, as he probably feels no one has been looking out for him since Diana died, so why not look out for himself? While I don’t especially like William, I do think he has a shot at redemption in the coming years. He’s coming to a crossroads.

    • Lady D says:

      Why not look out for himself? I don’t think he has that luxury, he kind of lost it when he took a wife and created a 3-children family. You’re not allowed to be selfish when you have children, not that that has stopped him, or Charles, or Elizabeth or Andrew….

    • February-Pisces says:

      The Keenbridges think if they can get the press to whatever they want, its automatically believed. Willie thinks if the press write he’s ‘empathetic’ people will think he’s empathetic, without any action or evidence to prove it. Just like how kate “dazzles” and ‘has a new found confidence”. No one has written about how empathetic harry is in 3 years but the don’t need to, cos we can actually see it with our own eyes, just like we can see meghans ‘confidence’ and ‘dazzle’ with our own eyes too.

    • Tessa says:

      I see no redemption until he apologizes to Harry for his behavior but I cannot see that ever happening. So tired of the Harry should have listened to William from the Cambridge stans. William is not in charge of anything and is acting really pompous.

  25. Jen says:

    I hate the narrative of “Poor Queen would have been happy to just live a quiet life of luxury without a care in the world but she is such a servant that she gave all that up to be Queen.” Same for William. He doesn’t want to be a hard working farmer. He wants to be a rich man with a country home and no financial cares.

    Their “service” is debatable.

    • ABritGuest says:

      I know the idea the royal family is all about service and duty thing is a joke- they are richly rewarded for what they do and not convinced many of them would do the charity work on their own dime& own time if not for PR& the rewards they get.

      I doubt the Queen is paying back any of the sovereign grant for this year even though it has reportedly increased despite her not doing any public engagements& the rest mainly doing zooms, no royal tours right now and less working royals.

      I agree with Jay, Britt& the Duchess. I think the press are being weird. Tatler was tweeting old articles about influential mistresses& portrait of Rose after it emerged a paragraph referring to her and William’s apparent closeness was edited out of its CTG article. Rhiannon bringing up old claims of William being work shy & reluctant royal we haven’t seen for ages. There was an express article about Kate being independent because of buying her own ring worth thousands which just seemed designed to get her trolled. And Ingrid Seward also openly discussing rumours of Philip’s affairs having recently compared the Cambridges to the Queen& Philip. Very strange

  26. AnnaKist says:

    Is Prince William still work-shy_or is he Statesman Bill?
    Well, if you need to ask…
    So he has “Prince” at the start of his name, but he’s still a pompous, egotistic git. I’d still rather hang out with Billy the Fence down at the Rose and Crown. 🌹 👸 🍺

  27. OriginalLala says:

    I just can’t with these people..the way they all go on you’d think being a royal is akin to living the absolute worst life ever. If they truly despise living for free in goddamn castles and having every whim and want catered to at the expense of the pubic purse, they are free to leave and forge their own path….but of course, they don’t because they like their lifestyles too much. #Abolishthemonarchy

  28. Harper says:

    There’s nothing stopping him from being a gentleman farmer in his downtime. If that were true, he’d be growing his own herbs and veggies in a little corner of Anmer, posing for pics with his favorite sheep, and ordering his spring bulbs right about now. I think gentleman farmer is code for “Give me one of the royal estates and leave me alone.”

    • LittlePenguin says:

      Yes, if he wanted to be a ‘gentleman farmer’ than wouldn’t we be seeing pictures of his beautiful garden harvest? Wouldn’t Keen Kate be displaying bouquets of the flowers he grew? I know he took that agriculture course a few years ago (if he even showed up for it/finished it) so, he’s had time for the perennial garden to grow as well.

    • Snuffles says:

      That’s Charles’ dream. Will just wants to be rich and lazy.

  29. detritus says:

    Who would not be happy with a well appointed cottage, land and dogs/horses/whatever animal of your choice and zero financial concerns?

    • Liz says:

      @detritus Right? People are like, “oh if the Queen didn’t have to ‘work’ she’d live life on a permanent vacation.” I mean, pretty much all humans would choose to live in their favorite place and do their favorite things if we didn’t have to work. The difference is, the Queen has essentially been doing just that for last six decades (no, I don’t think Royals, even the Queen, do anything approaching real work).

  30. KellyRyan says:

    All dressed up and no place to go, nothing to do, and of no relevance to anyone.

    • Lady D says:

      The pandemic is really making it obvious how useless and unneeded these two are. They really have no purpose. Their lives are aimless.

  31. Beach Dreams says:

    “Workshy” is a description that they haven’t pinned to William for years…not since Meghan got engaged to Harry. I would LOVE to know what’s sparking all these passive aggressive articles and tweets from the British press. If this had been more gradual/spaced out, I’d say it’s just them bitterly realizing the Sussexes are well and truly done with the RF. But all this mockery has happened in the span of a few days and it’s *really* strange. The media is literally setting up Philip, William, Kate (especially her), etc. to be mocked with the stories and tweets they’ve been posting.

    • Lizzie says:

      Perhaps it’s a test to see which one gets the most clicks?

      • Beach Dreams says:

        I feel like the tone of these stories are a little too pointed for that. Especially with a story like this one, where they dredged up the biggest criticism the British media has ever given William. In the past few months, he was already being praised for his “work” without any digs or mentions of past criticism. The fact that the “Workshy William” moniker is being pulled out again is quite odd.

    • Mindy_Dopple says:

      Something is happening right? It’s not just a coincidence the Tatler stuff was reignited and then these TWO articles “denying” things people have been whispering about forever. Without H&M around to distract the press, they’re exposed and scrambling. Who knew two people who simply wanted to do good things with their platform and life a healthy happy life could mess with everyone so severely?

      • Beach Dreams says:

        Exactly. And then there was that article/tweet ‘praising’ Kate for supposedly having her own money via a ring with a 20K price tag as evidence (from the Express I think). The reaction to that was predictably derisive. Then the Daily Fail posted an article about her including a BLM photo in that photography campaign, knowing exactly what types of responses their racist readership would have. There’s also that weird story about Carole and Kate being upset about Doria supposedly being invited to the royal Christmas festivities while the Middletons were excluded.

        As I said before, if these stories had been more spaced out–say, over the span of at least a couple of weeks–then I’d simply assume that the media was just venting its frustration over the loss of access to the Sussexes. We knew they’d be sharpening their knives for the other royals eventually. But all of these stories came fast and furious in about 4-5 days. It’s really odd.

    • Isabella says:

      Maybe it is related to the leaving of his private secretary Simon, which just happened. Why did he leave? We never learn, just that Simon is behind the statesman strategy.

  32. Lucy says:

    A gentleman farmer? Like Charles? Like the Duchy stuff he’s actively run away from?

    He was supposed to take some “bespoke” courses about being a gentlemen farmer around the time Prince George was born. That was supposedly why he wasn’t around during his first 6 months. I also remember he didn’t actually finish the courses.

    So, they’re bringing up an old story line that wasn’t true then or now and are hoping people will buy it this time. And that he’ll actually do a thing to make it true. I’m sure they’re just hoping he’ll do anything so a parade can be thrown where he wears fancy outfits.

  33. Le4Frimaire says:

    Why are they so afraid of and so hostile towards excellence, intelligence and initiative over there? They seem to admire “ getting on with it”, “putting up with it”, “duty“ and the meh of existence. This is who William is, he’s not changing. You can’t even get him to wear lip balm. No one is telling him he can’t do anything, he’s just choosing not to. The only initiative he’s shown in the past few years is attacking and driving out his brother and sister-in-law. That’s his legacy and accomplishment to date. He’s not reinventing any wheels or rocking the boat in his role. He’ll cozy up to Tories and whatever incompetence and lies they’re spinning and say the platitudes when he shows up. That’s his brand, his laziness, and the people who like him are fine with that. The only thing that changes is the spin and PR.

  34. MsIam says:

    I don’t know, my guess is that now that Harry is a “hot shot Hollywood producer” (lol) and going to be on the speakers circuit, William has a bad case of “what about me?”. But calling him a “statesman” after a few Zoom calls and a visit to an arcade? Seems like a stretch. If Will wants to be known as that he has got a lot of work to do. And yeah, there probably is some trolling or else maybe a “write something nice about William!” request.

  35. Unicorn Realist says:

    He really got the face he deserves. Not to being light on someones looks, but William looks rough for his age. With all of the resources and little that he does… he should be well rested and very fit. Guess he doesnt need to “try” since he is in line for the thrown. Standards will always be different for women. He was such a beauty. I dont like his character now. It makes him ugly inside and out.

  36. AGreatDane says:

    LOL, you have to be White to think posting a photo is contributing to the cause of anti-racism.

  37. Mariane says:

    lol the passive aggressive approach by RRs is a sign that they better pay up! With tbe report of them not doing s Christmas walk, I sense the press is on edge and their Meghan smearing tactics are no longer possible options as they’re now FREE to use legal power. The keenbridges will probably set a st mary church Christmas stunt with Carol to appease them

  38. Ceej says:

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

    he’s working more and “work” is playing arcades and having lunch with a footballer.

    Yes I’m sure he’s thriving when work is just playing some fucking games instead of appearing as a head of state or raising awareness for a charitable foundation or event.

    By these standards my BF works LOADS since lockdown meant being home to play video games all the time. So. Much. Work. Being. Done.

    I feel like it’s a puff piece but that bit about the kind of work he’s suddenly doing so much of is actually quite the dig if the palace was smart enough to have any self-awareness.