Prince William’s refusal to take on more patronages leaves charities ‘concerned’

Back in June, Prince William “launched” Homewards, a program William claimed would be the first step in “ending homelessness.” In actuality, Homewards was actually a small, localized and underfunded pilot program which aimed to simply help a small number of homeless people find more permanent living situations. The whole program had financing of… £3 million. Experts blasted Homewards and the whole thing flopped as soon as it launched. Personally, I still believe the issue was branding and PR – William centered himself in the project and he made all of these wild claims about how Homewards was going to be this huge game-changer when really, he should have just said “this issue is incredibly complicated and we’re financing this pilot program to see if this strategy will have short-term or long-term benefits.”

I thought of the Homewards flop this week when I read William’s on-the-record comments to the royal reporters who traveled with him to Singapore. Instead of actually getting to the meat of whatever he’s involved in – Earthshot, Homewards, what have you – he makes these grand pronouncements because he’s not actually interested in finding solutions on the ground. He wants to be seen as a visionary bringing social change, but the problem is that he’s a lazy dumbass who doesn’t have the patience to build something that lasts. Again, here are some quotes from William, from the Telegraph’s coverage.

Speaking about the achievements he has made in the year since he became Prince of Wales, he said: “I care about so many things and previously the family have been very much spotlighting brilliantly and going round and highlighting lots – I want to go a step further. I want to actually bring change and I want to bring people to the table who can do the change if I can’t do it.”

“I think the thing that ties it all together for me is about social leadership,” he said, adding: “That’s what I’m trying to find my way in.”

The late Queen and Prince Philip held over a thousand charity Patronages between them, raising awareness and money through their involvement and support of many causes. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales – who holds far fewer patronages than his father – has stated his preference for focusing on creating impact and legacy through more specific social campaigns for his tenure, such as ending homelessness.

[From The Telegraph]

I genuinely believe that “social leadership” is William’s new buzzword because he doesn’t have the patience, work ethic or intelligence to actually do the work. The work of being a working royal, the work of building something real, like The Prince’s Trust or the Invictus Games. The Telegraph notes the patronages held by the late QEII and Prince Philip for a reason, because that’s the whole f–king deal of “being royal.” As Tom Sykes noted in his coverage of William’s comments:

William’s remarks will likely send a shiver down the spine of British charities that have long depended on a royal patron to generate interest and funds.

One charity activist told The Daily Beast: “These comments will be very concerning to a lot of charities that have relied on their royal patrons for generations. It is almost impossible to raise any serious amount of money in Britain without a royal patron.”

[From The Daily Beast]

Considering Kate’s patronages keep going broke, having a royal patron is no guarantee for fundraising either, especially if your patron is Kate or William. Besides the charity angle and the laziness angle, William has now pissed off the most ardent royalists in the UK – they think he’s going “woke,” because he’s talking about change-making and social change… like Meghan and Harry talked about.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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77 Responses to “Prince William’s refusal to take on more patronages leaves charities ‘concerned’”

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  1. Shawna says:

    I know that, as an adult and a professional, when I characterize the extent and impact of my work, I default to the word “lots.” So big boy. Much leader.

    • Campbell says:

      “Lots” is such a laughable goal. My guess is Earthflop received little attention and he’s feeling exposed. So instead of establishing defined goals and going from there, he decides goals are for losers. Better to just name something broad and meaningless. Then you can say later that you achieved it!

  2. seaflower says:

    Those teeth would make a horse envious.

  3. 809Matriarch says:

    He’s such a doofus.

    • DK says:

      But even as a doofus (which ITA, he is) – how is it possible he can just decide to work less? Take on less patronages? But still get the same amount (and a raise next year) of tax payer money?

      Like, how can the Royal Family be funded by the people, but not held accountable to the people for transparency and specific deliverables? Like, if they’re now only covering about 50% of the patronages QEII & Phil held, shouldn’t they only get 50% of the amount of tax payer money?
      Or at least, tax payers should get to determine a minimum amount of appearances, patronages, etc. – specific job requirements – that need to be met in order to receive full funding from them.

      This whole slimmed-down monarchy thing of Charles’ was always just a way to retain more money for himself and his heir while doing less for the people, and now the whole Will-won’t-work thing is an even more blatant we’re-taking-your-money-and-giving-you-f*ck-all-in-return.

      Like, I sincerely don’t understand how they can just do whatever they want – which is as little as possible – and yet still rake in money.

      If they don’t want to do royal work, get rid of royals. End of story.

  4. ML says:

    Thanks for posting that link to Anna’s XTwitter, because those reactions are hilarious!

    Anyway, you would think that the “social leadership” quotient of PW’s job is covered by “prince.” Since it isn’t, he needs a quick course in both “social” and in “leadership.”

  5. Tessa says:

    William cannot make social change . He could not even change his own bad attitude toward his brother. And William does not like doing real work

  6. BeyondTheFringe says:

    It would be such a shame if William found his traditional, Tory (read: hate-filled or at least ok with being hate-adjacent) base evaporating as a result of him dabbling in “woke” catchphrases and handwaving that mean nothing without any actual follow thru.

    The “woke” contingent of Britain and the world already know he’s full of sh*t so he won’t find any quarter there either. He’s really backed himself into a corner due to this own gnat-like attention span, inability to read the room and plain ol’ laziness. Just such a shame. *eyeroll*

    • roooth says:

      It’s not just that the royals are unable to “read the room”. It would never occur to them that reading the room is something they should do. The “room” is supposed to read the royals, and provide them with what they desire, and bow and scrape while they pay them billions.

      They deserve this because they are royals. They really believe this. Because they are superior to the commoners who are “their subjects”. What kind of mentality would they have when they think of everyone in the country & commonwealth as “their subjects”? Not people. Not equals. Possessions who owe the royals their money and their allegiance.

      Royals are bred to be sociopaths

  7. I will say it again. He announced publicly that he will not work. I agree that with the charities having a royal patron that there is no guarantee their involvement helps and that’s because in Peg and Can’ts case they are only there for their photo ops period. Peg just wants to hang with celebrities. He thinks that is what Harry does but that’s where he is very wrong. Harry helps his charities and does the work and people and celebrities see this and want to be a part of what Harry is doing. Peg will never do the work and so when he does need celebrities he has to pay to fly them in and pay for their appearances so he can say look at me I’m with celebrities too.

  8. Mary Pester says:

    It’s not just the charities that should be worried, it’s every single person in the UK. We should all be saying “OY Baldric, either do the job we pay you to do, or fk the hell of into obscurity and take your wiglet bedecked button prince’s with you.
    The phrase” bring others to the table to do what I can’t do “, is a bloody BIG red flag. In other words,” I need a table about 3,000 ft long because even your average 5 year old is capable of more than me, ORRRRRR is bully boy thinking he’s the new Arthur, and very soon he will call it his “round table” and surround himself with knights, who will guard his peg.! The idiot is getting more pathetic every day, and he is so transparent in his laziness

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      On the bright side for republicans, Mary, is the fact that if the monarchy lasts past Charles, William will singlehandedly kill it with his laziness and dilletantism.

      • Mary Pester says:

        @brassyrebel and Susan Collins, honestly I despair of the UK, why the hell do we accept this crap from this ultra privileged family?? The millions upon millions they TAKE from the tax payer every year is beyond belief and now, they can’t even be bothered to do the bloody job. Has anyone got a guillotine I can borrow?

    • Yes Mary and shall be known across the land as King Peg and the knights of the round pegging table.🤴🤴🤴.

    • Mslove says:

      Guard his Peg! 😂😂

    • 1960tlm says:

      @Mary you are so right! He has numerous Big Red Flags flying right now. Why are the citizens of the UK tolerant of this? And who is advising him. Everything thing he does makes him look more and more like a clown.
      Did the people of Singapore have to pay the £8,000,000M for this flop? Or did William pay for this out of Royal Funds? Either way someone else is paying for his mistakes and attempts at becoming a Global Statesman aka the Eggplant Hunk. What did he ever do before Harry left the firm? Has he ever worked a day in his life because it looks like he doesn’t know how to do anything, except torture his brother and sister in law. He acts like a petulant child that is BS-ing his way out of a situation. The problem with that is, his BS behavior is harming these charities.

  9. Proud Mary says:

    The problem with William is that, as old as he is, his only goal in life is competing with Harry. Those buzz words mean nothing to him. Harry and Meghan are not only hard working and dynamic, but they truly believe in their causes. What does William believe in, other than his birth right? Don’t blame the shlubs and lackeys on his pay role. They work for a guy who has no substance. You can only do so much with that.

  10. girl_ninja says:

    It is sad to think that some of Kate’s patronages have gone broke while Duchess Meghan’s SmartWorks is still going and thriving. She continues to be involved with their work even after she and Prince Harry moved stateside. That is pathetic. Will and Kate are straight up losers and many in that country suffer because of it.

    • Christine says:

      I just checked in on Hubb Community Kitchen, and yep, it’s still open 7 days a week, and Meghan has been gone since 2020.

      Their website also says they are feeding homeless people, which is new since the last time I looked.

      Get off your lazy, entitled asses and DO SOMETHING. The Grenfell fire was in 2017, and with Meghan’s cookbook, it is still alive and well.

  11. Amy Bee says:

    William’s main problem is that he’s incurious. He keeps jumping from issue to issue with his PR team making new catchphrases as he goes. He would be better off just doing the bread and butter engagements ìnstead of trying to be a change agent.

    • s808 says:

      Exactly, he doesn’t have the patience or work ethic to bring big initiatives or projects to fruition. He’s better off just doing bread and butter engagements.

    • MichaelaCat says:

      If he had started, at say, the age of 25 to work once a week in a soup kitchen, he would have way more respect and experience than now.

      Running around naming issues and roles you want yo play without doing actual work leads nowhere.

      Sometimes adolescents do that. “I want to study this” “I want to be a that”. I did. Yet almost all adolescents grow out of that because they have to actually be and do something.

      • Eurydice says:

        Toddlers do that, too – I’m gonna be a cowboy, a fireman, an astronaut, Spiderman…

      • Christine says:

        I am fascinated by how different the two brothers are. We all know the royal family asked the media to back off after Diana’s death, and once they were adults, they kept Willnot’s image pristine, while throwing Harry under every single bus.

        Harry is motivated by Diana’s legacy and how the rota treated him. TOB is hiding behind Diana’s memory, hoping he still looks enough like his mother to get away with never doing a single thing for anyone.

        It will be fascinating to see if George is allowed to fuck off to Wales as a newlywed. Giving the heir years away from the spotlight was clearly a terrible move.

    • Becks1 says:

      Exactly. He’s incurious which is why he hasn’t been able to commit to a signature cause, because he’s not interested enough to actually learn about one.

      But he doesn’t need a signature cause. He can just focus on bread and butter engagements and increase his events so his numbers are high and then people will praise him for being such a hard worker.

      Instead he’s just kind of floundering.

      • Tara says:

        I remember an announcement in – spring? – that IDEO works for him. Never heard details about it and was always curious if they would quit. But Social Leadership would be up their alley, though.

    • roooth says:

      Willy’s lack of intellectual curiosity is a predominant part of his character. It reflects a lack of general intelligence. Basically, it shows that Willy is dumb as a rock. When he pontificates, he sounds like Chauncy Gardener; word salads somberly given as if there is some hidden wisdom. There isn’t

      Does anyone believe he actually earned his university degree?

      • Chrissy says:

        You mean his super hard Geography degree? Not one bit!

      • 1960tlm says:

        No! I don’t believe either of the Wales earned their degrees. Kate can hardly put together a declarative sentence and she’s still smarter than Will. William talks at people as if he’s got something so very important to do, he doesn’t actually speak to them. But regarding their degrees, would any professor actually give the future King of England a bad grade? I don’t think so. Yet they were so very happy to announce to the world that Harry was a dunce! Which was probably an out right lie! The Royal Family coddled William his entire life. That is why he can’t do anything on his own. People talk about Kate always copying Meghan and she does, but at least she can do some things on her own, without William. William can’t do anything on his own. Everything he does is a flop. Earthflop is an excellent example.

  12. Cessily says:

    It’s going to be quite the show watching the Monarchy being destroyed from within.. (someone needs to tell Peggy to stop sitting with his legs crossed and such poor posture it looks horrible)

  13. Becks1 says:

    This is the kind of statement where if you are going to say it, you have to back it up. he’s saying the old way of royal work and “raising awareness” isnt something he’s interested in, he wants to actually change things – well okay. So change things. You’ve said you’re going to do it, now do it.

    but you can’t end homelessness, racism in sports, bring about peace in the middle east, and fix climate change in the four hours a day that you allocate to working because of the school run and mistresses.

    • Fawsia says:

      Lol, it is not like he is doing school runs! He nor Kitty do school runs! It is something the tabloids say to make them relatable!

      • Becks1 says:

        oh we all know he’s not doing that! It’s just what they say as an excuse for not working.

        but even if he was, and even if he was working the entire 4 hours a day that he says he’s willing to work…..that’s not going to be how you bring about serious change.

    • Michaelacat says:

      4 hours a day? You’re very generous.

    • Eurydice says:

      Yes, that’s the thing. Don’t say it, shut up, don’t set up expectations that people don’t actually expect and you can’t actually achieve.

      Anne is considered to be the “hardest working” royal – but what does that mean? Charity events, memorials, lunches, attending a horse show, a meet & greet, an award ceremony, a phone conference. And if there is a trip, every separate part is counted as “work.” When Will was in Boston, every single thing he did was counted as work – arrived at city hall, caused a traffic jam in Somerville, shook hands with the president…

      He says he wants to create change, but the public doesn’t want that from him and it’s obvious he doesn’t really want to do it, either. But, it’s not hard for Will to do enough “work” in order to meet the public’s expectations and not be seen as lazy – just to get dressed and leave the house, get his picture taken and have his people back at KP tally up his “work” numbers in the most creative way.

      And, if he manages to appear at the charities that actually do address the issues he says he’s interested in, then maybe some little bit of change will come of it.

  14. Jensa says:

    Those comments on the Telegraph article are glorious. (“Look son you have nothing to bring to the party so just cut the ribbon and keep quiet.“)
    And it’s quite a traditional/conservative rag, so you’d think they’d be on his side. But no. Everyone knows he’s useless.

    • Jaded says:

      I know, those comments are comic gold! Henceforth I am going to refer to William as that “pillock”.

  15. Eurydice says:

    What’s so stupid about all this is that the charities have said what they need from him: “It is almost impossible to raise any serious amount of money in Britain without a royal patron.” All he has to do is have his minions come up with a list of organizations that deal with homelessness. Then, they can make a schedule for him – this week you visit this one, next week you visit the other. By doing nothing more than showing up, the charities get recognition and William looks like he cares about homelessness.

  16. Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

    I find it interesting that many of these causes/issues have become larger and affect more people due to the Tory policies, the same group from which, William hires a lot of his senior staff. How exactly is he going to affect real change without addressing these policies?

    • SarahCS says:

      Yep, that’s the conundrum at the heart of it all and I genuinely believe he’s too stupid to see that. He just sees Harry out there making a difference in people’s live and being lauded for it (outside of the UK and other right-wing press) and wants that.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      He can’t because he’s not supposed to address the government’s policies due to him being a royal. They are not allowed to directly engage with policy making. With these constraints, the best approach is to support and fundraise for organizations that have the freedom to address governmental policy. In Denmark, CP Mary is the patron of a Mental Health organization that actively works to influence policy on this area. She brings support and visibility – and they do the political lobbying.

      William’s is just too dumb to realize this – and his ego is too big to accept that his role is to support, not to lead because he’s now allowed to directly effect political change – because homelessness is not just a social issue, it is a deeply political issue.

      • Eurydice says:

        If Will didn’t realize it before he should have gotten a clue from watching Charles grimly plow his way through a speech that opposed everything he’s worked for his entire life. (well, almost worked for, minus the private planes and multiple homes and, and…)

    • sevenblue says:

      UK Home Secretary says that the homelessness is sometimes lifestyle choice. So, the people in charge are already not seeing any issue. All he is gonna do, pay a lip service. There is no way they will let him push for anything meaningful like policy or budget changes. I don’t think that Willy thinks he needs to achieve something too. He is gonna say, he will fix it and the tabloids report that and sing him praises. Then, after some time he is gonna find another thing he will promise to fix and totally ignore his previous promises. As long as the press reports his future accomplishments, it doesn’t matter to him if he succeeded or not.

  17. Brit says:

    The problem is that William, Charles and the press have made a beast they can’t tame and now they’re trying to compete with the Sussexes in a one sided competition. The problem is that William isn’t interested in Brand Britain and charities, he wants what Harry has. The press are also to blame because they hyped him up as the best thing since sliced bread and he actually believed it. It’s an unattainable pedestal and I do believe they do it intentionally to keep him dancing to the tune of the press.

    • JT says:

      Nope he does not care about the UK. He wants to be like Harry and be in America, which “is now very important to him” and his “causes”. He just briefed the press that America is where you go for philanthropy because that where all the money is and it’s bigger market. The UK is too small for the global, social leader statesman that he is. It seems like he sees Britain as an obstacle to where he thinks he should be. He wants what Harry has so badly.

      • 1960tlm says:

        This is really sad because he is the future King of England. He is supposed to dedicate his life’s work to Great Britain, not America. You don’t see the Spanish King coming here to the USA to do charity work, he focuses on Spain. I feel sorry for the citizens of the UK, they have a worthless prince.

      • AC says:

        @JT exactly. And it’s getting to be more obvious each day.

  18. equality says:

    Funny that Charles managed as POW to both have a heavy “work” schedule and create legacy projects/foundations.

    • Harper says:

      But CRex spread himself too thin! That’s where he went wrong, supposedly, in Burger King’s eyes.

      At some point in his development, someone must have told William to pace himself and not spread himself too thin like his father does. The Queen Mother, possibly? Willy really stuck to that idea religiously, and so we now have this lump who believes vacationing and house partying and time off is the proper way to manage one’s royal existence, as opposed to overdoing it like Charles did, so consumed by his passions that he would fall asleep on his papers at his desk late at night. There is a heavy thread in Willy’s ramblings of the prior generations getting it not quite right with all that dedicated hard work, and that comes from somewhere.

    • Ohwell says:

      Chuck was a neglectful father. Maybe if he cut some of the “royal work” and spent quality time with his sons he would have both sons supporting him.

      • equality says:

        Considering royal “work” takes up far less time than a commoner working full time; he could have done both. He just couldn’t be bothered. He could have cut out the other women time to free up his schedule also.

  19. Mslove says:

    I laughed so hard at those comments. Peg will have to scrap his social leader fantasy title and come up with something else.

  20. Jensa says:

    Charles set up the Prince’s Trust in his late 20’s. Philip was in his mid 30’s when he launched the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme. Diana is still remembered for the impact of her work with land mines and AIDS, and she was only 36 when she died. Sentabale launched when Harry was in his early 20’s and the first Invictus games were held when he was 30.
    By contrast, William is 41 and has virtually nothing to show for it. Where’s his legacy? (It’s not Earthshot, that’s for sure). And yet all these grandiose statements about what he “wants” to do. Peace in the Middle East. End homelessness. Save the planet. End wildlife crime. And he expects people to take him seriously?? No – they’re starting to see through it, even the royal reporters.

    • Magdalena says:

      Actually, Prince Harry set up Sentabale with Prince Seeiso when he was only *19* years old, which is even more impressive!

  21. Chantal says:

    Ouch, those comments are both brutal and hilarious. Take note Willy Nilly, your ultra lazy approach to life and your royal duties are being noticed and rejected. The people are telling you to stay in your lane and work – nothing more, nothing less. Easy enough to do with minimal expectations from the public for such massive public funding – unless you instigate and engage in a one sided competition with your more successful and charismatic brother and SIL and desperately tries to keep up by creating and announcing nonsensical goals. What person in their right mind keeps moving the goal posts to their own detriment? Who does that????

  22. Roseberry says:

    Peg decided all by himself that he’d skip crawling and baby steps and go straight to running and showing how he could be a big important CEO.
    Chuckles had years of accompanying his parents doing the bread and butter stuff before launching the Prince’s Trust. Harry had his frontline army experience and Sentebale (since he was 19) before launching IG.
    Peg was thrown some softballs; homelessness, something that Diana raised awareness of with him as a child, when he visited shelters with her. He could have done some genuine volunteering, low key and anonymous and built up some understanding and credibility. Environment, he lived at Highgrove, a model for organic farming ( he dropped out of his land management course). Sport, he’s president of the FA, with so many issues around inner city youth development and diversity issues for women and black players (he said he was bored with racism!)
    Both he and Twiglet have decided on a helicopter model for their’work’ swooping in making a lot of bluster,drama and noise,then flying off,leaving nothing behind but empty air and ‘smiles’.
    p.s the comments in the DM are brutal as well 🤡

  23. Wanda Blaggard says:

    The royalty’s job is to show up to events to get pictures taken, mention the charity/foundation, and cut a ribbon or drink a pint. They are celebrity mascots the public pay for because of “tradition.” QEII knew this and let the others be the splashy ones (like Margaret and Diana) but kept her head down and worked. William wants to be beloved and respected like Diana was but he doesn’t have the drive, ethic, or charisma.

  24. Sunny O says:

    If William genuinely wants to be a leader for positive social change, he should focus on his own family life,

    Specifically, he should start by not being abusive, misogynistic, and racist towards Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet.

    True leaders lead by example.

  25. Angie says:

    Actual research shows royal patronage doesn’t affect donations, so honestly this isn’t a loss for them. I’m sure he uses said research as an excuse to do less.

    https://giving-evidence.com/2020/07/16/royal-findings/#:~:text=We%20could%20not%20find%20any,summarised%20in%20this%20Twitter%20thread.

  26. Sunday says:

    1. That top photo is literally Voldemort.
    2. “Social Leader” …the word you’re looking for is “Influencer,” William, and no it is not acceptable for the heir to the British throne to put the same level of attention and focus into their work as someone hocking tummy tea on instagram, you absolute loser.

  27. tamsin says:

    But why wasn’t he talking about EarthShot and how small projects can affect the environment and be a positive step for change in saving the planet. Why isn’t he hyping EarthShot like he should, or why hasn’t he got Board Members hyping it? Why didn’t Cate Blanchette do an interview for example. She’s a Board member. He’s in Singapore as part of his “save the planet” goal, isn’t he? Why is he talking about everything else but? Why is this the William royal tour? Oh, I guess that’s the real intention- EarthShot is just the excuse. On the other hand, he could make EarthShot something meaningful if he only knew how, and his interest was sincere instead of looking for things to embiggen himself. As they say, all hat and no cattle. Hot air. All talk and no substance. The emperor has no clothes. Someone without the ability to live up to his own ego. Take your pick.

  28. Vanessa says:

    William doesn’t understand is that he played right into the hands of this Tory leader he willing sold out his brother try to destroy Meghan at all cost . And now he see what Harry and Meghan have been able to accomplish he wants what they have he wants to be seen as a charismatic leader who is seen with actually powerful people . William literally brought his own hype he truly believe that he is a statesman a global leader he is still a heartthrob woman actually want him this all smokes and Mirrors. All William has to show for his 41 year years as the heir to throne is nothing him and his advisors have try to copy Harry as much as possible with nothing to show for it . None of his projects have succeeded and now his talking about quitting the royal bread and butter the reason for their existence and justified for the taxpayers .

  29. Milady Digby says:

    How has FK the gall to publicly dismissed the bread and butter engagements carried out by this own family and make it clear they are beneath him!!! If I gave interviews stating a clear intention to NOT cover basic elements of my job and deride the service provision of the rest of the team, my boss would be calling me in for a disciplinary hearing. Will is so undistinguished and yet he imagines that he above acknowledging the hard work of others which is a cornerstone of the day job??

  30. Anne Keane says:

    I give a modest amount to a number of charities on a regular basis and have for years. I have absolutely no idea whether any of them have a royal patron, and have absolutely no idea why anyone would care.

  31. Ohwell says:

    William is a lost cause with no depth.

    He should work on eradicating classism.

  32. Bellah says:

    Whatever happened to his lifelong pledge to secure peace in the Middle East?
    Can we get a status update on that lifelong project of his????

  33. HuffnPuff says:

    Talk is cheap, Willy, which is probably why you love it so much. Just sad to see Prince Failure To Launch verbal scatting his way through life. I really wish he would just say what we know. That he’s not going to do anything. He will show up to drink alcohol or play silly games or hang with celebs but “work”? That’s for the peasants to do.