I read about Louise's difficult birth but had no idea James was born via IVF. It's very good of Sophie and Edward to be open about something like this. It's hard enough having fertility troubles and sometimes, just knowing someone else with all this money and power is facing the same challenges can make you feel a little less alone and be more forgiving to yourself hopefully.
I don't disagree with slimming down, there's no need for every member of the royal family to take on engagements all the time. However, those who do the most currently are not getting any younger. It's not reasonable to expect those in their 70's like Charles, Camilla, Anne to do as much as they do for much longer. The Cambridge children are a long way off being in that position, so there will be a bit of a gap, I don't see why the York sisters can't pick up royal work and support the monarch, whether that individual is their grandmother, uncle or, eventually, cousin. Over the decades, the Queen has had cousins such as Princess Alexandra and the Duke of Gloucester support the monarchy in carrying out engagements. Again, they are all advanced in years, the patronages they hold are going to need passed on at some point in the not too distant future - W&K can't pick up them all and Harry has thrown the toys out the pram.
The difference is that if ‘we’ decide to work less, we get paid less. Most of us don’t have that luxury because we have bills to pay.
But do they actually do a lot? Anne visiting 3 different offices in one day for an hour each and saying that was 3 engagements will add up at the end of the year to the title of “hardest working royal”, but visit like that are becoming a bit outdated and boring. Royals picking a couple of focused causes that make them visible and impactful, but then doing a few nursing home opens on the side is the way they’re going forward. The old idea of a royals having 1000 patronages is ridiculous because 90% are ignored anyway, so just drop them.
I agree. None if them do charity work geniuses they love it or are committed to the cause. They do it because they have to in order to justify their existence.
They are supporting the Monarchy, but are they needed to be supporting charities more than the one or two that most people support while managing to hold down a job? Even actors and singers manage to support and promote charities and do a job.Many ' ordinary ' people volunteer snd do a full time job.The minor Royals do charitable work in return for living in Royal residences at a peppercorn rent and money from the Monarch.
Camilla became president of the Royal Osteoporosis Society in 2001, before she was royal, after first becoming a supporter of the charity in 1994, according to their website: https://theros.org.uk/what-we-do/who-we-are/president/ Her mother and grandmother both suffered from it. I suspect she would also be supporting the domestic abuse charities she's patron of if she wasn't royal, it seems to be a cause very close to her heart too.
Can we outsource them? Happens to the rest of us.
Actually I forgot about Camilla. She does seem dedicated to the Osteoporosis Society and does a lot for DV without acknowledgement, but all of the environmental stuff, William in particular, when they don't seem to do much to want to change their own behaviour seems insincere. Even Charles has done some dodgy things that are bad for the environment in the name if making more money for himself from the Duchy of Cornwall. And many of them have hundreds of patronage, which they have little to do with. If the main small group chose two or three causes and really put the work into something they were passionate about, like Camilla does, or the Princes Trust or DoE, then they could do at least do something good with their position. We don't need minor Royals opening community centres as a justification for living on the public purse.
Eugenie does a fair bit for the orthopedic hospital where she had her operation and scoliosis charities in general for obvious reasons. Beatrice is dyslexic (as is her husband apparently) so does some work there and with children. Ed has taken on a lot of his father's interests such as the DoE scheme, playing fields trust, Commonwealth Games, Paralympics, and associated charities. Sophie is pretty busy too with the British Council and solo overseas visits; for obvious reasons she has fundraised for the hospital where Louise was born, takes an interest in premature babies, eye problems, and is now campaigning for menopause-associated groups, having been open about her own problems. They are said to be very well briefed on all their interests and obviously do a lot of reading up etc. With Anne, I was working somewhere where she attended to unveil a memorial and she went well over time speaking to every bereaved family for as long as they wanted, with kindness and compassion; she was said to know the work of Save The Children inside out too and do a lot behind the scenes. Harry, for all his faults, has done a lot of good with Sentabale and the Invictus Games. On another forum I'm on, about historical and royal jewellery, everyone feels that HM really ought to lend Sophie a decent couple of tiaras and necklaces, given that the Wessexes are usually the ones shoved off to foreign royal events and she doesn't really have anything particularly nice, even if she isn't in the main line
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But that’s my point. Not all of those patronages will be passed on. Or they will end up like most of them. A visit once in five to ten years and maybe a supportive letter once in a while. I think HMTQ even holds some she never was actively involved with. This type of „charity work“ is outdated and there is no need to continue it on that scale. So there is no need to bring in others. Also, the whole charity spiel is not exactly the main job, is it? It’s to represent the country. Being involved a bit id expected but the amount you see with royals is because they need it to balance the fact that they are rich and privileged while getting most of their lives payed by the public for existing. That’s why in monarchies the HoS is much more publicly involved in charity than elected HoS.
I suspect the problem with your very sensible analysis is this line. They don't seem to want staff who tell them what to do, or they don't want to listen to them, because they don't need to. They can just get some PR puff piece out there telling everyone how amazing they are and largely go about uncriticised. Kate and William are the future of the Monarchy, yet they are masters at doing very little for a huge amount of praise. Why is Earthshot in Boston? Why not go to a Commonwealth country, and one where they are at the sharp end of Climate change, or where putting pressure on the government might actually work, like India? It seems like PR photo opps more than doing something effective. What have either of them done to actually gain knowledge in their apparent ' passions'? Kate could not look less interested in early years, especially when you see her swanning about at elite sports events in comparison, and Williams speeches are forever getting picked apart by actual scientists because he hasn't bothered doing any research before writing speeches about population growth or space travel or environmental issues in Africa.
Sophie’s tiaras are awful. I would have that one she had for her wedding reset. It has a funny tall bit and then what looks like a ‘gap’ either side!Eugenie does a fair bit for the orthopedic hospital where she had her operation and scoliosis charities in general for obvious reasons. Beatrice is dyslexic (as is her husband apparently) so does some work there and with children. Ed has taken on a lot of his father's interests such as the DoE scheme, playing fields trust, Commonwealth Games, Paralympics, and associated charities. Sophie is pretty busy too with the British Council and solo overseas visits; for obvious reasons she has fundraised for the hospital where Louise was born, takes an interest in premature babies, eye problems, and is now campaigning for menopause-associated groups, having been open about her own problems. They are said to be very well briefed on all their interests and obviously do a lot of reading up etc. With Anne, I was working somewhere where she attended to unveil a memorial and she went well over time speaking to every bereaved family for as long as they wanted, with kindness and compassion; she was said to know the work of Save The Children inside out too and do a lot behind the scenes. Harry, for all his faults, has done a lot of good with Sentabale and the Invictus Games. On another forum I'm on, about historical and royal jewellery, everyone feels that HM really ought to lend Sophie a decent couple of tiaras and necklaces, given that the Wessexes are usually the ones shoved off to foreign royal events and she doesn't really have anything particularly nice, even if she isn't in the main line
As for surrogates, Emma Weymouth, now the Marchioness of Bath, did an article or two about how they had to use a surrogate for their second son as she nearly died in her first pregnancy and was told it would be too dangerous to have another pregnancy. I don't think anyone has said anything about it affecting inheritance as the child is genetically hers and her husband's.
Strictly Emma Weymouth's surrogacy pain after nearly dying during son's birth
Strictly Come Dancing star Emma Weymouth almost died from a bleed on the brain during the birth - forcing her to turn to a surrogate for her next childwww.mirror.co.uk
.The Marchioness of Bath opens up about her surrogacy journey
‘Having Henry the way we had him was incredible, and such a different experience’www.tatler.com
I had to look that up! So that's the Anthemion tiara, I quite like it as it's got a delicate pattern, like a snowflake.
I think the ‘difficulty’ is that those tiaras were made for when women wore bigger and fuller hair so it looked like it was perched atop the head and you didn’t see the wires etc attaching the the gems and metal to the base. For me I think when Sophie wears tiaras she needs to back comb and make her hair fuller because she has fine hair. I’m the same, good thing I don’t have to worry about tiaras!
Here’s a photo of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ version. I don’t like the new version either! There’s now too much in the middle and not enough at the sides!
I think Camilla smokes but not sure what makes me think that. Not sure on the others, wouldn’t have though William and Kate do.
Camilla definitely smoked. Don't know if she ever gave up.
