It sounds like Prince William refuses to commit to doing more flop tours

Following the coronation, the Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner had an interesting piece called “Can Prince William keep the royal family relevant?” Don’t come into this thinking that it’s going to be another sugary, sycophantic piece about William being “the future” of anything. Rayner has been thoroughly briefed by Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace about all of the question marks currently over this new reign and whether Prince William is actually capable of handling anything. What’s also fascinating is that the piece starts out by discussing how the family isn’t going to have any “big moments,” like a major funeral or coronation, for another twenty years. Which honestly makes me feel like they look forward to family members dying just for the TV ratings. Are you not entertained?!? How macabre. Some highlights from this piece:

No more big events for 20 years: Assuming the King and Queen enjoy the sort of robust health of their predecessors, there may not be another major royal occasion for 20 years or more. In the past, the monarchy has been able to rely on births, marriages, jubilees and coronations to top up their popularity every decade or so, but we are now entering potentially the longest period in our history without any of them. The King will not have his first major jubilee until 2047, unless the Royal family break with tradition by making a fuss of his 10th anniversary on the throne. The Prince and Princess of Wales are not expected to have any more children. Prince George is only nine, meaning it might be two decades or more before he is ready to marry.

They’re looking for an audience of billions: Courtiers are already talking about “the long haul” of a reign uninterrupted by set piece events. Trooping the Colour might be a welcome opportunity to polish the armour once a year, but it certainly does not attract a TV audience measured in the billions, nor does it merit a street party. And as they ponder the question of how to keep the country, and the rest of the world, interested and engaged in the Royal family, one name looms large in their conversations: Prince William.

William needs to step up, lmao: The King and Queen will be 75 and 76 this year, meaning they will increasingly rely on the Waleses to do the heavy lifting, particularly when it comes to long-haul foreign tours. It will mean a significant step up in their workload. William and Kate have not carried out a major foreign tour since March 2022 and are not expected to do the next one until next spring – a gap of two years. If they are to follow the example of the King when he was Prince of Wales, they will be expected to complete at least two big tours a year. Last year the Prince of Wales carried out 126 official engagements in total, compared with the Princess Royal’s 214 and the King’s 181, meaning there is plenty of scope for increasing his workload.

Peg the Statesman: “All of the focus had been on the Coronation, but there is an opportunity now to really think about the longer term,” said one royal source. “On the domestic front, the Prince and Princess want to make sure they leave a legacy wherever they visit, and internationally there has been a real evolution of the Prince as an international statesman.”

William & Kate’s “family time”: The Prince and Princess are fiercely protective of their family time, driving their children to school every day and minimising the amount of time they spend apart from them. Kensington Palace talks of “quality not quantity” in royal engagements, suggesting the couple will not be upping their workload significantly.

Will & Kate won’t commit to any more flop tours: Nor are they willing to commit at this stage to doing the same number of foreign tours that the King has been used to carrying out. One royal source said there was no “tick box” method of determining overseas visits and that the couple will not necessarily follow the “template” set down by the King but are “very keen to do things their own way”. That could cause problems if the Foreign Office is unable to fill the number of overseas tour slots it wants to cover off. An ally of the King also suggested that he would want William and Kate to be “the international arm of his deployment” and would “expect them to get out and cover the ground abroad”.

[From The Telegraph]

There’s been a steady stream of briefings to the Rota about the foreign tours, specifically about how Queen Camilla doesn’t want to travel anymore. As soon as she got that crown on her head, she told everyone that she’s not going on anymore international tours. In this piece, there’s also an acknowledgement that there are high-level discussions about whether foreign tours have outlived their usefulness, and maybe it’s stupid to send princes and princesses around the world to make asses out of themselves in different countries, like they’re doing a traveling racist-skit roadshow. I’m curious to see how those internal discussions play out, especially given that it IS expected that Charles, Camilla, William and Kate will all need to get their asses in gear and travel around the world to celebrate the new king. Those conversations about tours to Canada and Australia – originally planned for this year – died quietly at some point.

As for William and his branding as the future of the monarchy… palace sources cannot even make a vague commitment to William doing tangibly more events. Those sources point to Kensington Palace’s fan-cam operation, like making cheesy videos makes up for the fact that two 40-somethings cannot even average three days of work every week.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

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98 Responses to “It sounds like Prince William refuses to commit to doing more flop tours”

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  1. equality says:

    Might or might not be laziness, but actually a smart move for PW. Let E&S do the Commonwealth tours and be the faces that get fired on camera. I’m sure Sophie wouldn’t object to paid vacations. Why does having a big party that costs millions prop up the monarchy? Are the Brits really that easily distracted by shiny baubles over substance and using money to help the “commoners” instead?

    • Josephine says:

      They are easily distracted by “protecting” their all-white traditions. They took a page from the US facists who foment hatred of anyone different to hide the fact that they are stealing from the poor and middle-class to further the coffers of the ultra-rich.

      • equality says:

        Since the US “descended” from the Europeans, I think it’s more the US facists took a page from them.

      • HamsterJam says:

        That is why the right wing is anti-intellectual, they prefer their populace as dumbed-down as possible so they don’t pick up on the “we are baiting you so we can steal from you” plan

    • Pinkosaurus says:

      Will Commonwealth or other countries be willing to foot the bill if they’re only getting Ed and Sofiesta though? That’s going to be an issue for the foreign office trying to get counties to accept these visits or issue an invite unless they’re desperate for a trade agreement.

      • Jaded says:

        We have to, that’s why commonwealth countries have a Governor General in place to organize royal visits and it doesn’t matter who the royals are. However, invites are typically generated by the country, not the BRF saying “hey, lets take a trip to Australia”. I’m sure they’ll visit Canada at some point but I doubt anyone will give a sh*t other than to resent the fat bill Canada gets at the end. Speaking of bills, I read the other day that the Canadian Mint is going to put Charles’s ugly mug on our $20 bills and toonies at some point, but no date given. He’s not my effin’ king…

      • The Old Chick says:

        Jaded not always. The royals wanted to send wank (I think) after a natural disaster in Australia and Australia said no thanks, we’ve got better things to spend money on and have emergency services focus on. The newest Australian visit that’s disappeared was also from them as a let’s send wank to a white country for better optics! Might have been an informal discussion. Basically no one cares. Anne came last year I didn’t hear a word about it.

    • SussexWatcher says:

      The answer to your last question is a definite yes. We just saw that happen in real time as 250mil was spent on the Chubbly as that exact same amount was cut from social services budgets. And no real uproar about it. Bread and circuses, without the bread.

    • AlpineWitch says:

      I wish I could answer no to your last question, Equality, but for a Mrs and Mr Alpine ignoring the whole thing that happened on Saturday, there were too many Brits eager to doff their cap and lap the Royal BS up.

    • Dutch says:

      The big royal events also help prop of the longstanding narrative of how royal related tourism returns 5 times or more in revenue than they get annually from the sovereign grant. Royals need events to move that merch to justify their existence.

  2. Midnight@theOasis says:

    Their imaginary competition with the Sussexes is the only thing that’ll motivate the Wanks to get up off their lazy arses and do some work. Leaving the global stage for H&M to dominate is unthinkable.

    • SarahLee says:

      That hasn’t worked so far. They seem happier to sit and complain about the Sussexes than actually do anything, likely because they know they cannot compete in any way – with gravitas, with chemistry, with charisma – nothing.

  3. Josephine says:

    I love the “quality not quantuty” remark to deflect the laziness. Nothing they do has any quality — they pop up empty handed, take a few pics with her grimacing and him frowning, and leave after 30 minutes.

    • SussexWatcher says:

      That had me laughing too. With the Wailses, you get neither lol. Just one idiot grinding his teeth into dust at having to work with his wife instead of prune rose bushes. And/or a second inarticulate idiot who can’t make a 30 second speech without checking her cue cards 27 times.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      I must admit that I too am enjoying how BP, or any of the Monarchy characters, are hopelessly twisting these truths into a positive spin to excuse unrelenting laziness that Burger King is as his heir and his wife. No amount of spinning nor twisting will make fetch happen today or within the next few years of his reign. All of which boiled down from uncontrollable rage, jealousy, snowflake egos and pettiness from the entire bunch. Well, they wanted all of the limelight and now they have had it for more than three years and we shouldn’t expect anything different for the foreseeable future to boot!!

  4. ThatsNotOkay says:

    King Charles must be so disappointed in his heir. Much like the Queen was in him. Seems like tradition to hate your next in line. Poor George.

    Anyway, William is lazy and not very bright. He married someone lazier and dimmer. And they’re content dining off the backs of the serfs and providing nothing in return. Are you ready to ditch this shit yet, Britain?

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ That’sNotOk, but Charles only has himself to blame. Had he forced Incandescent to work from an early age and kept him in his place and forced him into fulfilling his duties, he wouldn’t be stuck with a dullard of a son and heir. They simply perpetuated the laziness with his marriage to Keen, who in her own right is just as lazy and useless as her husband is.

      Burger King should have put his ego aside and forced Bullyiam working for the position he was born into at an early stage. But his ego was just too precious and fragile in wanting his heir possibly outshining him.

  5. Pinkosaurus says:

    Yesterday I mentioned I expected W&K to refuse any traditional international tours but might be willing to vacation in Commonwealth countries and post a video to SM. Good luck getting Wills to do anything anymore now that he’s got the Duchy income.

  6. Linda says:

    Oh. Now it is alright to be “very keen to do things their own way”.. how fun for them. Rules change so easily when you are a white prince and princesse.

    • Debbie says:

      Yeah, I saw how neutrally they lobbed that “doing things their own way” dogma too. And, to think, no one was “blindsided” or anything by this principle.

  7. Jessamine says:

    All for the demise of the monarchy, but what boggles my mind is Will’s total lack of foresight and enlightened self-interest: does he want his own celebrated coronation? Does he want “the firm” to exist for his children? Work, b*tch.

    • Deering24 says:

      One suspects so long as William has the cash flow, he cares less about perpetuating The Firm. Why should he–he’s sitting pretty.

  8. Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

    Instead of pouting about the protests that greeted them on the Caribbean tour, it would have been an incredible opportunity for William the Statesman to visit with these people, listen to their concerns and stories and truly take an interest, like a statesman would.

  9. Jais says:

    Negotiations bw houses will be interesting. What’s stopping William from just saying no to whatever he wants? He’s got the duchy money now. Although if he does refuse, C&C will just leak it to the press, which means that the only way to get William to do something is by using the invisible contract.

  10. Eurydice says:

    So much for that public oath of allegiance. But the mention of the Foreign Office is telling. They need the RF for the shiny face of diplomacy. Of course, W&K are terrible at it, but who else is there?

  11. AGoodKaren says:

    They are in big trouble, and they know it. This is the new reality. The media and royal expert leeches have nothing. No events, no work, no future, no interest. This really is the endgame. I just don’t understand why the rota don’t go out in a blaze of glory and profits, savaging the Windsors who remain. Perhaps it’s slowly begun. They can record, and hasten, the end of the monarchy. I’d pay to see that. Also while we’re at it, from Australia can I just say no to a tour. Usually I’d be mad about the suggestion but I’m just laughing. As if Pegs and Jegs could be bothered travelling anywhere anymore.

    • Debbie says:

      Oh, no, sister. You’re getting a tour! It may be a DisasTour, but you’re getting it. (Sorry, I just had to say that because it seems like the BRF just foists its presence on unsuspecting countries, whether they want it or not, and regardless of economic or cultural environment.) It just seems like whenever they need the extra attention or an opportunity to “polish the armor” some other people must be inconvenienced (and pay for that privilege too).

  12. JaneBee says:

    “Quality not quantity”

    LMFAO they cannot manage either – quality or quantity 😂

    Also, KP’s attempt to brand Baldimort an ‘international statesman’ is hilarious. There is literally no evidence to support that he is capable of being anything other than an international loser.

    • Shawna says:

      The only thing he’s done well this entire year is go to a gay restaurant, and that was more or less an accident.

  13. Jan says:

    National Geographic has uploaded the “Diana In Her Own Words” documentary on YouTube for free viewing.

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      Thanks, Jan. I’ve been wanting to watch this. 👍

    • SarahCS says:

      Touché Nat Geo.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ Jan, thank you for the information!! I would much rather watch Diana, or paint on the wall to dry, than anything related to Burger King and his court of jesters!!

    • BothSidesNow says:

      Oh @ Jan, I have been watching Diana’s NatGeo “In Her Words” and it’s all terribly sad to listen to and to watch as she pushed her way through the emotional gymnastics that was she put through. I haven’t finished watching it, but the fact that Diana knew so early in her young, naïveté mind that she would never be Queen makes me cry for her more so now than when this was first exposed. Lady Diana, the Queen of all of our hearts!! ❤️❤️

  14. Snuffles says:

    Anti-monarchy Republicanism is picking up steam even in the big ole white Commonwealth countries. And unlike England, they can’t pass a law to ban protests.

    They are terrified they will be protested everywhere they go from now on and the world’s press will cover it because they can’t control them either.

    The UK is slowly becoming North Korea and will become a hermit kingdom.

    • AlpineWitch says:

      It’s already a hermit kingdom with empty supermarket shelves and no healthcare in huge swathes of this country.

  15. Nubia says:

    I guess the grass looks greener, I can’t fathom how two young people with so many resources and whole teams who do every function are so undriven. I would love to be in their position to help but they act like its punishment. I guess when you have had nothing to work for in life, not much excites you.

    • MrsCope says:

      That’s the thing, Wills has had every advantage and he lacks curiosity, creativity and work ethic. He’s always known what his job was going to be, he’s never had to lack the security of home or money. He’s never had to hunger for anything tangible or intangible (besides arguably a father’s love and example, and his mother). And he looked to his left and there was a bride waiting for him. And here we are.

  16. So they are finally understanding that they are left with useless, empty headed and ancient people. Can’t and Peg don’t wish to do anything because they are lazy as all get out. Chuckles and Cowmilla are old and getting older. Not many like either couple so what we have here is a real conundrum. Maybe the should have thought about this let’s say 4-5 years ago.

    • QwietStorm says:

      Maybe that’s why we’ve seen some articles promoting how people should think about welcoming Harry when he visits or that William should forgive Harry. It somehow seems a soft disclosure to subtly enticing Harry back to the UK. Those courtiers and media know that the royal family needs the attraction and “pizzazz” that Harry could provide.

  17. Jay says:

    I think this is building on the article yesterday, which suggested that both Camilla’s troubles with air travel and the fact that she and Charles are now on the throne might mean it’s time for the Wails to step up. The “future” of the modern monarchy indeed – I think we will see William do some high profile solo trips, like to Davos where he can make a speech and also perhaps drum up some wealthy donors. But a tour? He and Kate barely do events together right in their own backyard – that’s days of having to put on their game faces. And I think they’ll use the humiliation of the colonialist Caribbean tour to say that they should not do anything, that it’s too “old-fashioned”. Leave that kind of thing to Edward and Sophie, basically!

    Much as the Wails said they won’t do bread and butter engagements, they’ll focus on “big projects” instead – just that those projects never materialize.

    • Christine says:

      I can’t help it, I can’t wait to see how this all fails spectacularly.

      I can’t really blame Chuck for shrugging his shoulders and letting Willnot fail at his usual pace. He’s already on the throne, after working for decades to make the duchy hugely profitable, and Cannot and Willnot are the recipients of actual productivity in an heir. What the Wails do with any of this, is on them.

  18. Rapunzel says:

    KP posted three videos from the coronation/coronation concert. The King is hardly in the first one, and basically missing from the other two. Chuckles will not be laughing at this slight.

  19. Digital Unicorn says:

    To me this reads that William is being difficult as he wants something from Pa – a divorce/money/royal lodge who knows but there is sh!t going down behind the scenes. Neither of the Wails looked very happy during the coronation weekend.

  20. sunny says:

    William, “What’s a Weekend?” Wales. The laziness tracks.

    I think this move signals that they are fine losing the Commonwealth and given most of the nations in that group are made up of Black and Brown people who want accountability or to dump them or both, it makes sense. And for nations like Australia and Canada, i think dissatisfaction will grow.

    It will be a nightmare to remove Charles from Head of State here in Canada given the way our constitution and treaties have been structured but I do wonder if our Australian friends could have an easier time eventually giving them the boot.

  21. ML says:

    “The King and Queen will be 75 and 76 this year, meaning they will increasingly rely on the Waleses to do the heavy lifting, particularly when it comes to long-haul foreign tours.”
    Technically, my senior citizen parents were still visiting me across the ocean, playing with grandchildren, sightseeing, eating out and traveling at this age. There is absolutely NO reason as long as they’re in good health not to ALSO have KC and QCC do foreign tours.
    As to PW and K: they’ve been rather industrious this week, but workaholics they are not. Welcome to “you reap what you sow,” because H&M would have worked if they hadn’t been mistreated.

    • tamsin says:

      I believe that Philip and the Queen were still travelling at that age. Camilla seems to be a bit of a drag- unable to do long tours. She’s not the helpmeet the country seems to need. Mind you, Charles was also doing a lot of travelling as well. Charles is simply not going to get the hard-working Prince of Wales that he himself was. But the chief thing was to erase Diana as the Princess of Wales from the minds of the world.

      • Jaded says:

        Camzilla apparently suffers from motion sickness and vertigo when she has to go on a long flight, and has to take medication to get her through it. It takes a couple of days to get the medication out of her system, so I don’t know if we’ll see any significant travel for C&C. This means, naturally, that Willnot and Carenot will have to step up to the plate, but I highly doubt that will happen. They’re their own worst enemies on these junkets because they both lack the intelligence, diplomacy skills and interest in doing anything other than the bare minimum or swanning around like Big White Bwanas. Sophiesta and Edward are too far down the royal totem pole to be any kind of big attraction, so we’re watching the BRF dwindle down to old, boring and useless.

      • ML says:

        Jaded, thanks for posting this here. Becks posted something similar under the Dampier article. I was unaware of Camzilla’s issues with vertigo. That excuses her from several long-flight trips. The RF is going to have to hope Willnot and Kannot step up and accept more responsibilities.

    • Christine says:

      I am now completely convinced that Chuck is done propping up his lazy son. Chuck and Cam have their crowns. If the Wails do nothing, it will play out as it should. I’m on Chuck’s side of this, he’s done enough, as the PoW. Checkmate, Willnot.

  22. Sue E Generis says:

    William couldn’t be bothered to memorize 2 lines or be on time for his father’s coronation. No way he’s stepping up to do more work.

    • MrsCope says:

      Two lines. Even if the cue card was there as a confidence thing, he should have been able to look one quick time before starting and get the words out. Him not looking at his father was a choice.

    • tamsin says:

      William would have had no trouble remembering his lines if he understood what he was saying and really meant it. It’s hard to memorize empty words that you don’t mean.

    • tamra says:

      I had to memorize the Gettysburg Address in 6th grade! LOL

      • Christine says:

        I still have the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet memorized, from 7th grade.

  23. Lady Digby says:

    Well let’s keep them expectations low because the reluctant workers are going to continue to shirk but still cost the tax payer loads. The Firm looked old, tottery and crumbling in that photo. PoW are the youngest present but dull, mediocre and lazy. I just don’t know how you can spin their tiny number of royal engagements as quality over quantity. They don’t DO charity work themselves instead they visit and have photographs taken adjacent to hardworking professionals and volunteers. Hardly what I would call a life dedicated to service is it?

  24. HeyKay says:

    Maybe William knows how badly that last visit went and he is trying to avoid another PR disaster.
    Or, lazy.
    Both.

    • Tessa says:

      Will is so self.centered and dislike s criticism. He probably thought his standing up in uniform in that land rover was just great. Kaye probably thought her wardrobe on that tour was just perfect
      They are clueless

  25. Hopey says:

    William straight up said: “Get somebody else to do it.” 😂😂😂

  26. Elizabeth says:

    Will these two continue to let the septuagenarians and octogenarians in this family continue to outwork them? The Duke of Kent will be 88, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are in their late seventies. The problem with letting Edward and Sophie do all the foreign tours is that no one cares about them. William and Kate need to start pulling their weight. They’ve had 12 years of taking it easy; it’s now time for them to seriously take on the mantle of Princess and Princess of Wales.

    • BQM says:

      I think the Gloucesters still outwork them or did until Covid.

      The phrase ‘never put a foot wrong’ that’s so cavalierly thrown around actually applies to them. Richard was an architect and Birgitte had only married in a few weeks before her BIL, the heir, died in a plane crash. The Duke of Gloucester was infirm from a stroke and didn’t live much longer. So they were suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into roles they’d not envisioned. And they’ve done their duty well for decades along with raising a solid, non scandalous family. And the duchess’s jewel collection, her OWN, is the best after the royal collection.

  27. AnneL says:

    So, *Marked Safe* from William and Kate coming to my country again?

    (I’m in the US)

    • Renae says:

      Nah, that’s one place they’ll be…for money and to try and compete with Good King Harry

  28. MrsCope says:

    I can’t see how Wills could afford a divorce without a less-than-subtle about face in his “family man, steady marriage” messaging. His wife was very much front and center this entire weekend and royal fans ate it up. He was largely missing from the narrative, which aligns much more with what Harry has said all along: the brothers are united in their desire to not see Camilla as queen. It also shows that BP really worked overtime in the “Wills is the good son who respects Camilla” leaks. Wills was supposed to be a huge part of the planning for the hat party, but that died away probably because of how much Cam Cam propping there was going to be. Harry knows his brother more than anyone would probably like to admit. I think that one photo of Harry looking in Wills’ direction while his eyes were closed is not as much a scowl (duh!), as it is a moment where they are probably both thinking about their mother and/or the state of things. A lot of projection, I know. But big days make you think about things you might not want to think about. Long way to say, Wills might be negotiating something, but I still don’t think it’s D-I-V-O-R-C-E (in my Tammy Wynette voice).

    • Jais says:

      Started watching the NG Diana in her own words and one thing that struck me was that Andrew Morton swore up and down that Charles and Diana would never divorce. Looking back, if the phone hacking had never happened, Charles may not have admitted to the affair with the Dimbleby interview. I don’t know that the Wales ever will divorce but at the same time we just really don’t know what could happen.

      • Tessa says:

        Charles probably thought his confession of adultery would win sympathy was he ever wrong.

    • Lady Digby says:

      Agreed I have listened patiently to pensioner royalists this past week, many of whom wanted WK to be crowned not CC. Much of his appeal is based upon clean cut family man image and Kate is essential to that. They are both lazy, poor diplomats, rubbish public speakers and uncomfortable around POC but they are well matched. Yes he looked bored and contemptuous with her but would he be happier if he remarried a charismatic, charming and hardworking woman who outshone him in public? Then he’d just be resentful and jealous. To counter CC power a united front with Kate would help but that’s not happening either or maybe they will rebond over their refusal to kowtow to pressure to stretch to a 3 day week?

      • Teagirl says:

        He doesn’t have to remarry quickly. He could be a single dad, sadly separated/divorced from a woman who couldn’t hack the job. I wonder how the public would view him if he were to regretfully announce a separation with a fade into the background of Khate (for her health don’t you know), and he assumes the mantle of single dad?

    • February Pisces says:

      I think kate absolutely believes he could divorce her, hence why she’s so desperately clinging on for dear life. But William just doesn’t have the balls to pull he trigger. Kate is safe for now.

  29. Mslove says:

    How can Pegs be a proper statesman when he is vindictively running a smear campaign against his own brother? How do you make a statesman out of a raging lazy bully? Good luck with that.

  30. lanne says:

    Hmm–they had 2 members of the family who were ready and willing to do foreign tours, and who were good at it, besides. Two people who could bring billions of eyes to the royals for a generation.

    That’s why I can’t take the royals seriously as an institution. They are an institutional failure. They would rather kill their brand than let someone not white excel in it. They deserve to reap the bitter harvest they have sown.

    All of this was foreseeable, and has been forseen for years. William and Kate aren’t going to magically start working and becoming charismatic. Now even more attention will be paid to what the Sussexes do. When they are seen doing great good, in public, it’s going to be an embarrassment for the royal family. Inevitably, people will start asking, why isn’t this effort benefitting the royal family? Hey, any royal historians or rota members who come to this site, we have already drafted the think pieces you will be writing in the years to come, lamenting the demise of the family. The sites archives will contain a wealth of commentary from many of us who have watched this unfold.

    • DeeSea says:

      Pruning shears aren’t just for trimming rose bushes. They’re also used to cut down anyone who dares to rise to “tall poppy” status. It takes a lot of fortitude to be a tall poppy in the UK, and especially in the royal family, and that’s why so many would-be tall poppies dim their own light and effectively cut themselves down preemptively so they can continue existing within this very messed-up system. Diana was the original tall poppy, and look how that worked out for her. Meghan was tall AND Black, a combination that must have made the royals’ (and royalists’) heads explode. I’m out here rooting for alllllllll the tall poppies, because they’re the only ones who actually make a positive difference in the world.

  31. LB says:

    While I think that monarchies are dying out in general, there are three people who would have been able to keep the British monarchy relevant for a while longer: Diana, Harry and Meghan. W&K’s children are way too young, and by the time they are of age (assuming they are not like their parents), there may be nothing much left.

  32. Becks1 says:

    First – yes, royal tours as W&K do them and as the BRF has traditionally done them have long outlived their usefulness. That was one of the things that made the Flop Tour such a flop, besides the racism and kids behind a fence etc. It just looked like something from another time. People don’t need royals to show them that Caribbean countries have great culture, we don’t need to see pictures of white royals dancing with Black people like its something so fun and unique and special. People dont need to see a fancam of W&K snorkeling in Belize to think that Belize would be a great place to vacation, etc. We have the internet now, we have social media, etc.

    Now obviously representatives of countries visit other countries all the time, so its not that the idea of a visit by W&K is outdated. They just need to massively rethink how they organize those visits (maybe stop calling them tours, first off?) look at how other royals visit other countries, look at how people like Jill Biden visit other countries and use THOSE visits as your roadmap, not what the Queen did 60 years ago.

    Now all that said….they’re not going on a tour until 2024? no commonwealth visits to celebrate the new monarch? Not even Canada? Man william and Kate really are just refusing to work aren’t they?

    Dont get me started on the “quality over quantity” nonsense…..

    • Livvers says:

      Yes. Foreign tours are not JUST PR-generating vacations, where if there are diminishing PR returns the Crown gets to just refuse to do them. These people are our literal heads of state in Canada, Australia, etc., and they have an obligation to visit (however much as a taxpayer I resent it – constitutionally they still have a function). It’s like if a president and vice president of a country (lets say a mostly ceremonial one, like Ireland) refused to live in or even visit the country they are head of state. I mean yes in a constitutional crisis their deputy (GG) would carry out duties, but it wouldn’t be right to never visit at all.

      • zinjazin says:

        Yes and for example a typical workevent for CP Victoria, she went together with a delegation of 50 representatives of swedish bussiness and commerce, to Vietnam, in order to promote swedish industries and bussiness relations. Because she is with them it creates more buzz, shows respect for the hosts, and brings attention to the fact that this is an important event, and bring more interest to help and highlight the endeavour abroad.

    • Nic919 says:

      Trudeau has not invited Charles to visit canada yet because most Canadians don’t care about the monarchy and he was here last year prior to the death of the Queen.

  33. Cathy says:

    No to Kate and William touring New Zealand too! I guess it’s lucky we are so far away that it’s a bit of an effort to get here?

    Harry and Meghan can come back anytime they like though.

  34. aquarius64 says:

    KP has already put out 3 tapes for William’s image of king in waiting and the coronation crown is barely off Charles’ head. BP is going to make sure the Rose stories keep coming, or completely out Bullyam as a cheater with an arranged separation. It’s not the lie; it’s the cover up.

  35. lanne says:

    A royal divorce might be the very thing that gets public attention, though. Nothing like a good ole scandal to sell newspapers. Charles and Camilla would like it–it takes some of the “perfect family” shine off of William. William marries a young (ish) Diana-type who’s hardworking, charismatic, and vaguely aristocratic could bring positive attention to the RF, and since Kate hasn’t done a thing to be “beloved,” explain her away as being unwilling/unable to do the work. Maybe even set her up with an affair so she can be a “fallen woman”. The problem is the Princess of Wales title. She isn’t going to want to give that up. So they could, in theory, do Duchess of Cornwall 2.0.

    I don’t think this will happen–I think William and Kate have an arrangement and likely live apart now that she’s done her dynastic duty. But in terms of how to get attention back in the royal family, a good old fashioned divorce could do it!

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Ianne, I agree. A divorce will probably be just what’s needed to get people paying attention to the royals again. I’ve always thought that Wails could simply disappear into the wilds (in this case, Adalaide Cottage, and wouldn’t be heard from again. Fails would be the devoted single Dad. There’s a lot a mileage right there. I also think if he could find someone who had some charisma and worked, it would be exactly what the Firm needs.

      I think whether it will happen will depend on how much they dislike each other and having to be in their vicinity. They simply can’t put out a ‘couple together’ vibe to save their souls.

      I have wondered if KFC has said no to anymore houses. If Fails wants another house, he’ll probably have to pay for it. That will mean it will be a Duchy owned property like Higrove is. I seriously doubt that Andrew is going anywhere. I think he was used to take some of the heat off of KFC when it became public that he had evicted the Sussexes. It’ll be interesting to see how long that house sits empty.

  36. RoyalBlue says:

    Lazy scroungers. They live for the big events and adulation. Garden parties, deaths, marriages, engagements, babies, Christmas and Easter walks and posing on balconies. They don’t enjoy the trips because you need to actually work and have serious conversations for that.

    Sounds to me like they were being forced to do the overseas trips before and from the time meemaw breathed her last, they all took a big sigh of relief. No one insisting on reaching out to the former colonies now, so let the excuses begin. Rottweiler’s bones are achy, Sausage fingers is trying to reduce his global footprint, Walmart and Kmart are the dedicated parents. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

    Camilla better start practicing yoga, I heard it’s good exercise and she needs to keep limber for all the work ahead. What? Did she think the Queen sits on a throne all day and gets fed grapes? And CR3 better watch his back, because his elder son is gunning for him.

  37. Claire says:

    I mean, that’s a smart move. If Charles wants to force the commonwealth issue, he should be the one doing those tours himself.

  38. Anne says:

    “…driving their children to school every day and minimising the amount of time they spend apart from them.”

    Um … neither one of them do ANYTHING all day. The infamous “school run” takes probably 20-30 minutes, total. If anything, they have TOO much time to spend with the kids. And how do they reconcile “we want to spend as much time with our kids as possible!” while still employing a full-time nanny?

    I feel bad for their kids — they’re already being used as human shields/excuses for their parents’ inability to do work or arrive to events like THE CORONATION on time.

    • Lizzie says:

      How do working people in the UK who arrange to get their children to school and work 5 full days a week not throw-up when that sacred school run gets trotted out routinely?

  39. tamra says:

    I bet willie wishes he had someone to do all this menial work! Maybe like his brother and SIL he and the idiotic bunch ran off! LOL

  40. j.ferber says:

    He’s fine to lose the Commonwealth because his Duchy millions are unrelated to it.

  41. Debbie says:

    Naw, I say “keep flopping” just don’t come to America anymore, Jerk.

  42. BQM says:

    Well, a divorce and remarriage would bring about that royal wedding you won’t otherwise get for years. And maybe some births to fill out the lack of working royals, at least in the next Gen.

  43. February Pisces says:

    I think Willie and keen only agree to these tours to keep the rota fed. It has nothing to do with the good of the monarchy, the ratchet rota want a holiday and they get a sh*t load of content too.

  44. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Perhaps no more flop tours, but the article doesn’t say anything about flop houses.

  45. Saucy&Sassy says:

    The good news is that Louis is 5 now. Those early years have been accomplished. I’m sure they were perfect. Wails can now be free to work. At some point, these kids are going to be in boarding school. Just what will Fails and Wails come up with then?

    • HeyKay says:

      That boarding school system is so, so strange to me.
      Pack up your young children, suitcase in hand, bye.
      Go live away from your immediate family for most of the calendar year.
      See ya for vacation at Xmas. Go, go.

      Private school with smaller class size, yes.
      The kids come home every night, to their families.

  46. sammi says:

    Just heard on TV that Rwanda is now a member of the commonwealth? So perhaps as countries leave others will be offered a place and they will be the ones that get visits as they are friendly or ignorant whichever way you look at it! Of course a trip to see the asylum seekers sent to Rwanda would be good/bad media coverage. Look out for royals going by chance anywhere that Harry and Meghan have events. Invictus in Germany and Canada……NZ environmental work and Africa Parks work coming up. Not to mention any awards which may suddenly get conflicting royal events. so sad.