He has certain expectations for his wife. There are women willing to meet them. Because they are willing to meet them doesn’t mean that they’re just “breeding stock” - that’s merely your (incorrect) interpretation of their relationship.
But when you get down to brass tacks, how they (or any married couple) handles their expectations towards career, children, etc, is really none of your business, is it?
If William didn’t care about the expectations of him there are many, many things he does all the time he wouldn’t be doing. His manner and behavior is consistent with someone who is upholding their obligations as a member of the Royal family and someone in direct line for the throne of the United Kingdom (and various Commonwealth states.)
I would rather posit why do you think William doesn’t care about this expectation when he obviously cares and upholds his end of things in regard to all the other expectations. No one can be sure what William thinks, and I frankly don’t give a shit.
I do find it doubtful a guy who genuinely was planning to say “fuck this whole monarchy thing, imma do what I want” would have lived the life William has lived up to this point.
Can William do whatever he wants? Sure, absolutely, he’s a free person. If what he wants materially conflicts with what is expected of him it is highly likely he would have to remove himself from the line of succession, give up his titles and live life as an ordinary person. History has shown Kings can ignore the expectations of them, and that Prime Ministers can tell those Kings it is time for them to go if they do so.
If William and Kate planned on just “living a normal life” I don’t know why they have instead been behaving exactly like they plan on living the life of Royals who are doing exactly what they are expected to do.
It also is not black and white. You do realize of course that Kate could be expected to produce children and that her and William’s match is one of genuine love?
Diana and Charles had only met a few times before they were married. Charles was in love with another woman, Diana was an inexperienced virgin thrust into a world she quite frankly did not have the capacity to handle.
Kate has been doing things with the Royal family on some level for many years now, she has seen enough of them to know what her official duties and responsibilities would be if she married William and also what her unofficial expectations would be.
It’s obvious she isn’t just regarded as breeding stock, because from all appearances her and William met and had as “normal” a relationship as one might expect. It wasn’t analogous to how Charles and Diana met.
That doesn’t mean the Royal family doesn’t have those expectations we’re talking about. It also doesn’t mean William doesn’t care about those expectations and that William hasn’t decided to live up to those expectations. Based on everything else we’ve seen of William, it looks like he takes his eventual assumption of the throne seriously and is planning on living up to all that entails, which includes producing heirs. Thus I highly suspect during their 8+ year relationship William has discussed the issue with Kate. I suspect that if she was totally opposed to the idea of having children, while it would have saddened them both, William would not have married her.
It’s not her. Everyone assumes he is breeding stock, and that she understood in marrying him that she was going to share the expectation that was on him, not her.
Why does everyone assume that a recent college grad is looking for a job? Why does everyone assume a person in their mid-60s is thinking about retirement? Why does everyone assume that a high school valedictorian is going to college? Why do people assume a top college athlete will go pro? Why do they assume a new-on-the-scene, wildly popular actor is looking for another role?
In all of these cases, people have choices, and there are certainly plenty of people that have made the less likely choice, but the overwhelming majority of people respond predictably. The predictable course for most young married couples is children–something like 80% of women have children–and it’s even more likely that this particular couple are under a certain pressure to reproduce and are not opposed to satisfying that expectation.
There actually were some rumors a few years ago that William was very ambivalent about the whole King thing and had told people he didn’t want to be King, and might not accept it.
More power to him if so, but I suspect we’d have heard something more concrete if he had serious plans to abandon the monarchy.
I have to seriously wonder what would happen if a reigning British monarch decided they didn’t want there to be a monarchy, and publicly adopted a position supporting its dissolution.
Interestingly I think it would actually play out as the monarch being forced from the throne and a new one crowned–because the people are the ones who get to decide whether to continue with monarchy or not, not the guy currently on the throne.
How the fuck is caring about ones country, and how best to do ones duty to it, not a human element? Everyone in their personal relationships has to care about more than just the other person. To be consistent, you would have to criticise soldiers who go away, rather than staying with their family, for not having a human element.
Seriously, you don’t have a clue how the monarchy works, and from the sound of it you don’t have a clue how marriage works. They are both, like most other things in the real world, a compromise.
Do you honestly believe that William owes the country an heir in any meaningful, and that it’s anyone’s actual “duty” to continue a particular family line? Do you think it really has an impact on Great Britain, or anyone’s lives in it? Who really cares? The royal family smiles for the camera, cuts ribbons, and wears lots of funny hats. It’s not like they were actually appointed by God to rule England. It’s just a bunch of people. If William doesn’t “produce,” there are something like 2000 people on the line of succession. I’m sure they’ll figure it out to save the country from whatever horrors would happen if some other random lineage inherits the thrown. It’s not like the whole thing isn’t essentially arbitrary anyway.
I’m sure they’ll have a kid soon enough, and of course they have talked about it. I just find the whole “Sooooooooo, you guys are married, now when are you going to start popping out babies” thing to be tacky whether it’s coming from a nosy mother-in-law or a bunch of strangers. They may be royal, but they are still people. They just walked down the aisle. Let’s give them a few minutes to enjoy their marriage before we start pontificating about her “duty” to get knocked up.
I think if William chooses to remain in his position, with the privileges and burdens that come with it, then yes he does. If he chose to remove himself from public life, I’d have no problem with that. As you say, there are other people in the succession. Sadly, though, a lot of people would have a problem with it.
I’ve posted plenty in the last few days about what the monarch actually does, there’s a lot more than waving and hats. The head of state is a not a ceremonial position. It will, major political change or tragedy notwithstanding, be filled by William’s child, possibly in my lifetime, so yes, it matters to me.
Sorry, William and Kate, if you’re reading. By all means enjoy your wedding, and honeymoon when you have it (they’re apparently delaying it). We’ll go back to discussing the exact circumstances of the birth of the President instead. Much less tacky.
I’m arguing against the idea that William and Kate’s sexual and reproductive choices are a matter of “duty” to anyone but each other. She may have become a public figure by marrying into a family that the UK has rather randomly decided to bestow with great power, but that still doesn’t mean her private parts are public property.
A vast amount of people expect their children to carry on their family line, and many of them would consider it a duty. You might disagree with it, but it’s hardly an unusual attitude.
My personal opinion is, if they choose to continue to take the benefits of being royal, they should also take the duties. If they don’t wish this, they should step aside, and good luck to them. I would hate to be in their position.
Since they have stated they do want to have children, it may be frivolous to speculate about when they will do so, but it is not The Handmaid’s Tale either. The thread feels highjacked to me.
It’s not so much about whether or not it is *actually *their duty, but whether or not Will and Kate *perceive *it as their duty. Duty is the primary driving force of Queen Elizabeth’s life, largely stemming as stated upthread from the abdication of Edward VIII, and she has passed it down to her children and grandchildren. It’s unlikely, given the life he has led to this point, that Will will not at least try to fulfill this expectation, especially since it’s something most people do anyway.