Fine. I was attempting only the roughest of rough estimates. I’m sure multiple royals show for most occasions. But I also believe there are more than 10 “official” royals. And some - such as the Queen and Charlie, might participate in more than their share of the 2000. And, I wonder how “occasions” are counted. For example, on the day of a wedding, is the entire day a single occasion? Or is the procession to the chapel, the ceremony, the ride home, the reception(s?), photo sessions, whatever - all counted separately?
However they are counted/doled out, I never got the impression that any of the Royals were exactly overworked, or deprived of a fair share of comfortable leisure. Anyone else feel like a week at the Scottish castle for grouse shooting? :smack: Maybe plan it to coincide w/ a railroad station ribbon-cutting, to make it an official occasion (and, undoubtedly, expense as much as possible.)
I have limited sympathy for someone marrying into the family. They know what they are in for, and presumably thought the exchange worthwhile.
Of course, if The Crown in any way resembles life, it seems like even after abdicating, an ex-royal could live a pretty comfortable life of leisure.
That’s a little different; Edward VIII abdicated, which means he voluntarily gave up being King. As I understand it, once that happened, he was just regular old Edward Windsor until his brother George VI (the new King) created him Duke of Windsor. To some degree, this was to thwart any political ambition in Commons that Edward may have had.
ISTR that taking away a title is a much bigger deal than granting one; it’s not at Elizabeth’s whim; based on historical precedent (Titles Deprivation Act 1917), it would take an act of Parliament to strip Harry of his title.
Personally, I say the less we see of H&M the better. Fortunately he’s not in any danger of becoming the sovereign. Will and Kate far outclass the both of them.
How does it work that “they are prohibited from earning any income in any form.” :dubious: No income from work I can see, as being a royal was their job. But she had residual rights from her acting, as already mentioned, not to mention interest from the financial assets (bank accounts, stock, etc.) that an upper-middle-class person would surely have accumulated in her pre-royal life. Did she have to sign over all her income-generating property and contractual rights when she became a royal? If so, would she get them back with this change?
I can’t imagine them doing what Kylie Jenner or Gwyneth Paltrow did, as that would involve them selling stuff. Don’t the upper crust types consider that vulgar?
Googling, the Prince of Wales has food products sold under the Duchy Originals label, but all profits go to charity. That’s like the approach taken by Paul Newman’s company and its brands. Somehow not keeping the profits makes it cleaner.
I don’t believe the wedding would count at all, since it’s a “family” occasion rather than an official engagement undertaken on behalf of the Crown. (A royal attending a foreign wedding as the British representative would be counted, however. At the 2010 wedding of the Crown Princess of Sweden, the Earl and Countess of Wessex represented Her Majesty, but it’s only listed as a single engagement in the Court Circular, and they combined it with a visit to a British naval vessel visiting Stockholm.)
The full-time royals (at least until yesterday) were the Queen, Charles and Camilla, William and Kate, Edward and Sophie Wessex, Anne, and Harry and Meghan (ten people). Philip, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Alexandra all occasionally appear, but they are all elderly and at least semi-retired (Philip is 98, the Gloucesters are in their mid-70s, and the Kents are in their 80s.) Andrew is out now as well. A few others (Beatrice and Eugenie and the Michaels of Kent) make a handful of appearances, but they’ve never been full-time members of the Firm.
Here are the engagements for yesterday:
The Princess Royal attended the Oxford Farming Conference Debate at Oxford Union.
The Earl of Wessex as Trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award attended the Staff Conference at Warwick University, and then in the evening attended a reception and concert in London in his role as patron of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
The Duke of Cambridge attended a meeting of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (he’s the president)
The Duchess of Cambridge held an “Early Years Meeting” on behalf of their foundation
Since this is the slow time of year, I picked a random date last spring (16 May 2019) and looked to see who was doing what:
Princess Alexandra attended a Reception and Dinner to launch the Richmond Park Heritage Centre
The Princess Royal received the chief executive and one of the fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, then attended the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, of which she is patron, then went to a council meeting for St. George’s House, a lecture in St. George’s Chapel, and a dinner at Windsor Castle
The Earl of Wessex was in North Macedonia, where he met with that country’s president, visited a kindergarten for a United Nations Children’s Fund presentation, attended a Sustainability Exhibition and Inclusivity Performance, then met with members of the North Macedonian Parliament. He then flew to Croatia, for a welcoming ceremony at the airport, a tour of the Old Town of Split, a meeting with the Croatian Minister of Culture, and a dinner marking the tenth anniversary of Croatia joining NATO
The Duke of York visited a telecom building in South Korea before flying back home to London
The Prince of Wales went to Food and Drink Awards at Fortnum and Mason, received the colonel of the Royal Regiment of Canada, held an investiture at Buckingham Palace, and then hosted a concert and dinner at Windsor on behalf of the Royal College of Music.
The Duchess of Cornwall opened the new barns and galleries at the Charleston Trust in Sussex, then opened a therapy program for vulnerable youth, then attended a reception for the East Sussex Women of the Year, finishing her day with a visit to a wine estate in her role as president of the Wines of Great Britain.
The Queen held two investitures and received the outgoing and incoming commandants of the Royal Air Force.
The Duke of Edinburgh received the Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
So I’m reading online a lot of speculation that Harry should become Governor General of Canada. Does this strike anyone as a legit option? For what it’s worth, the current Governor General did about 200 official occasions her first year.
I recently read the rigid roles ( Meghan has to walk BEHIND her husband entering a room) and appearance regulations (ex: how to cross legs, only clear nail polish, hat always in public, hair styles, etc). What modern American woman wants to be that restricted? Poster who said she “knew” what she was getting is probably wrong until it happened.
I have a feeling Harry has been planning to leave the country ever since Princess Diana was killed. Now he has the chance, and with an American wife, why not. Good for him.
No, not really. It used to be somewhat common for a royal to be appointed as governor general of a dominion (the Queen’s uncle, another Prince Henry, was GG of Australia in the 1940s, e.g., while Victoria’s younger son Prince Arthur held the Canadian post in the 1910s), but the idea of a non-citizen in the role doesn’t seem to have any real support anymore, regardless of who that non-citizen is.
Good for them, though part of me believes that this is a chess move designed to get the press to back the hell off. The message is pretty clear: Either play nice with us, or we’ll just pack up our marbles and find a new sandbox.
I don’t know what it is with the UK press that they treat people the way they do, but they are as vicious as any terrorist. Royals and celebrities are hunted like animals. Elton John wrote in his autobiography that he likes living in the US because nobody hounds him here. In his younger days, the press dug through his trash and published his personal stuff (such as bank statements), and published stolen photos of him engaged in sex acts.
They’ve been horrendous to Megan since the marriage and I love that Harry is backing her and doing what’s right for his family instead of kowtowing to people who’ll chide him for walking away from his duty.
I’m amused thinking of the tabloid writers and photographers after hearing the announcement. How will they earn a living should their two favorite pawns pull up stakes and move to the US?
Why assume that the reporters would leave them alone if they move to North America? My guess is that they’d continue to follow them around, photograph them and report on them.
slask2k, I will bow out of this discussion, as you clearly know far more than I care to.
I’m not sure that I’ve been persuaded that the royals are exactly overworked and underpaid, tho. How much time/effort does it take to “receive” or “meet” someone?
Just curious, as for the date you mention, how many “occasions” would the Wessex dude’s Macedonian and Croatian activities constitute?
And rather than an isolated day or even week, a true picture would require seeing how many days in a row one of them worked, how many days out of the year, how many stretches went without official occasions. I mean, if someone told me I could have an all-expense trip to wherever, staying in luxury hotels, eating the finest foods, but sometime during the trip I’d have to cut a ribbon or meet with some people, I’m not sure most working stiffs would consider that excessively onerous.
But, like I said, I really should step out of this, because the British royal family is pretty high on the list of things I really don’t care about, and don’t understand why so many people do.
Harry and Meghan are adults and can do whatever they want. I realize the consequences are huge, but they appear to consider them to be the better alternative.
She is a princess, because her husband is a prince. She is not called princess, but her nationality is irrelevant to that. Her sister-in-law is British and treated the same way as far as her title goes.
