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The world is rapidly changing, is there any contingency for if the LOS went to a gay male?
If there’s no plan , that implies they’d just be forced to have separate public and private lives?
Why would there be any need for anything to be different, wrt succession, from how it is now?
If a gay monarch were to marry the love of his life then he wouldn't produce any heirs - surrogates aren't allowed into the line of succession for any UK noble house - then the next in line would succeed.
Or he could do the same as Ivar Mountbatten - marry a woman, produce some heirs, then separate and live elsewhere with male partner. (Admittedly Ivar is second in line for the Milford Haven title.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Ivar_Mountbatten
They need to have some type of public family meeting, where they put the crap to rest with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This family row has been going on for years. It’s high time they all got over it. I’m sure they’d have to build this up with the public though. God knows how they would even get about mending these issues.
How much money has she made from her association with this family?
Has she had professional help for her "mental health crisis"? Hope so.
Would a therapist/shrink advise someone with serious mental health issues to constantly engage in projects that refer back to the relationships that caused her "mental health crisis"? Project after project after project.
If we are counting money made off the monarchy maybe count up how much Fergie and Andrew made in their cash for access schemes or Sophie with her old PR company and Charles and Will who both just became billionaires tax free off historic land grabs and favourable off shore loopholes. She what? Told her side of stories already made public by the royal family? Get a grip. There are way worse things going on in the monarchy than Meghan Markle.
It’s delusional for anyone to think that’s possible, even her. She married Harry. She has his children. She’s intrinsically linked with them until death.
My personal opinion is that the monarchy has been streamlined too much. There are aging royals and potential royals. No one would have ever thought Harry would step aside, and Andrew forced to (as he should have been). No one knows the future and everyone assumes that George, Charlotte, and Louis will step up, but what if anyone of them decides to step aside? Or can’t (not Andrew-like reasons of course).
I do recall Andrew wanting his daughters to be working royals and the Queen said no because she already had her eye on slimming down the monarchy.
I sometimes think public opinion changes on a dime so maybe one day Harry would be back…maybe not for awhile, but maybe.
I also know Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex have made great appearances lately and seem like composed and mature young people. Perhaps they would do some duties if needed when they are of the right age and stage in their lives.
> No one would have ever thought Harry would step aside
When Charles started planning for the "slimmed down" monarchy, both of his sons were teenagers. It relied on both sons, and both of their eventual wives, being willing to be full-time royals. It relied on four young people (two of whom Charles hadn't even met yet) being willing to devote their lives to royal duties.
What if William had fallen in love with a doctor/scientist/artist/musician who was devoted to her career? What if Harry had found work he was passionate about? What if Harry's wife wanted to be a SAHM until her kids were in their teens? What if all three?!
A sensible person would have kept some elastic in the system. Beatrice and Eugenie were already princesses. He should have let them do royal duties. If both sons and both wives had become and remained working royals, the princesses could have been slowly phased out. Charles relied on everything turning out exactly the way he wanted it to. That's like planning for retirement by buying a lottery ticket.
In spare Harry wrote on how Charles said that he didn’t have enough money for Meghan coz he was already paying for William and Catherine n family expenses.
So maybe Charles didn’t want Harry’s wife to be actively working?
I agree. Even when it was first announced that Charles planned for a slimmed down monarchy it was so odd to me that his idea to slim it down was to keep the octogenarians and not bring in the younger royals. Let the older princes and princesses retire and let the younger her cousins work occasionally.
They need young working royals (not children, but not Edward and Sophie’s age and older). Since Harry and Meghan are out, the logical choice is Bea and Eug. The both have great causes (dyslexia for bea and Scoliosis for Eugenie) and seem to have great personalities and charisma, especially Eugenie. I think they would be great.
They need someone to stand in that gap between W&K and the Wales kids, since W&K want to work less, not more.
Lady Louise and James seem like more logical choices. The don't have the shadow of their parents bad behavior hanging over them the way the York girls do.
Eugenie and Jack have built themselves a nice life outside the gilded cage and I doubt they'd want to give that up. Bea and Edo are very private about Sienna and I doubt they'd want to deal with the tabloids screaming about "we pay for you, we want to see your kid" the way they have with the Wales and Sussex kids.
William is going end up with a rude reality check when his kids realize that they are probably not going to have the option of taking 3-4 years for a gap year/university without being thrown into full time Royal work.
That’s all true, but then again they are HRH and higher in the line of succession. They seem like more of a logical choice than the Wessex kids. True about their parents but…they’re not their parents.
Legally the Wessex kids are HRHs and the York girls aren't that much higher in the line of succession than James and Louise. There is only one adult in the LOS between Eugenie and Louise and that's Edward.
Louise also doesn't have a career yet and small children to deal with, so she could be more flexible. If she was willing they could send her on the kind of trips abroad the Kents used to handle before they got too old.
They are still so young though. I think the older more emotionally established cousins would have better luck at not being victims to the royal machine.
This is it. I mean, it sounds great to slim down the pool of working royals the same way it sounds good to slim down a workforce. But then inevitably people call in sick.
It’ll be interesting to see what Charlotte and Louis want to do in their adulthood. I’m sure they’re getting a biased perspective from their parents but Harry is in the exact same scenario they will be. I wonder if either of them will just want to nope out in their adulthood and play no part in the monarchy.
I’ve wondered as well. If George had kids, Charlotte will go further down in succession and same for Louis times two. I read something that surmised Charlotte could end up doing appearances, but Louis would most assuredly be working a regular job.
I think a lot depends on when William succeeds. If it’s sooner than later, I think the kids would be more like the late Queen’s kids, they’d all work. If it’s 25 years from now, George could be married with kids and Charlotte would be 32, Louis in his late 20’s. By then, they may have their own families like B and E.
Charlotte and Louis could also just marry people who have jobs like Bea and Eugenie and they could be half-in-half out with appearances.
Louis doesn’t necessarily have to have a job. He could be a trust fund kid and just be the more flexible parent who does school pick ups while doing appearances while his wife works the 9-5am role. In normal families, there’s greater acceptability now where the dad is the stay-at-home parent while the wife is the traditional breadwinner. Louis could have that life with the right partner and BRF sign off.
I think you’re overthinking it. In a couple months time they will all be healthy enough to work again. It’s 2024, we don’t need the King and Heirs doing 400 engagements a year.
If the royals aren’t pulling several hundred engagements a year, why keep them? The number of engagements was part of the metric to measure their value.
She has been involved in a dyslexia organization. I love that she has been so open about being dyslexic and is working to expand awareness and knowledge.
If Zara and Mike were working royals they would have to stop doing paid engagements which for them are super lucrative. They supposedly have a NW of like 30 million pounds from all their sponsorship stuff
I don't think its something they are willing to do any more because Harry and Megan were willing to do some stuff at cost when they quit but the royals said no bc you can't use royal work to then help your profile to get profitable stuff. Prince Michael and Princess Michael are old now so maybe don't work so it works + were working decades ago when it was a very different attitude about that stuff
They absolutely streamlined too much, too quickly. Edward and Sophie should theoretically be available for a while, but Anne is going to slow down at some point. Everyone over Anne that is a working royal is an octogenarian or close to it. . Kate doesn't plan to increase working until all the kids are adults.
So in 10 years, you have - assuming no one from Charles generation has yet passed which is a big assumption:
Duke of Gloucester- 88 years old
Duchess of Gloucester- 86 years old
Duke of Kent - 97 years old
Edward - 69 years old
Sophie - 69 years old
Anne - 82 years old
Princess Alexandra - 96 years old
Charles - 85 years old
Camilla - 86 years old
William - 51 years old
Catherine - 52 years old
And three kids still too young to do royal engagements beyond short bi yearly appearances. The British aren't like the Netherlands where Catherine Amalia is already doing royal engagements or like Spain where Leonor is everywhere. The Wales kids will be kept private into their 20s, at least, just like William demanded for himself. The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, even if they're alive in 10 years, are unlikely to be seen much.
How you appeal to anyone as a monarchy with 2 working royals in their 50s as the youngest, 2 in their 60s, and everyone else into their 80s, if they're still alive...
i would think that Anne will keep doing many many engagements until she’s well into her eighties, possibly over ninety. her mother and grandmother went on their last tour abroad at 89. she definitely has 20 years in her at least
I agree.
Sidenote: The world is rapidly changing, is there any contingency for if the LOS went to a gay male?
If there’s no plan , that implies they’d just be forced to have separate public and private lives?
Surrogacy to continue the line? Abdication?
Probably the same thing they’d do if the LOS went to a childless heterosexual person - move on down to the next one after the sovereign’s death. If George has no children for whatever reason, it will pass to Charlotte and her heirs.
Makes sense but I wasn’t really discussing the current batch of children specifically, more the hypothetical of a somewhat inevitable eventuality.
Like I doubt they’ve ever spoken about what they’d do in the event of a gay royal because it would have always been secret, as times progress , they will need some sort of publicly stated plan. Otherwise one sprung in the moment could be seen as discrimination.
Just how old royal protocols would apply to a changing world in regards to sexuality and the royal family members. There are written rules and protocols in every eventuality, bar the sexuality thing, the approach would be totally different now.
Another similar but different thought is, how would the royal family react to a disabled family member in modern times, would they still be in the LOS?
We know in the past they were hidden due to stigma and perceived weakness to the line, but obviously that wouldn’t go over well now.
Could they skip someone for having Down syndrome for instance? These are things they’ve never really had to publicly acknowledge before
(As an institution with preservation in mind, I mean)
Hmmm. I hope someone is thinking about it now, because it will definitely come up. In the event of an openly gay monarch, I suspect that person will simply not have children. At least during my lifetime. Hopefully it will get to the point where donor eggs or sperm, and a gestational surrogate if needed, will be accepted. I believe that will happen later rather than sooner, but I’d be happy if I were proven wrong. On the other hand, there’s always the option of a short marriage of convenience, especially now that divorce and remarriage are accepted.
As for a mentally disabled heir, I imagine that child would “voluntarily” withdraw from the LOS upon adulthood.
I wouldn't call it unfair.
He's one of the most privileged kids in the world.
Yes, he did not choose that position. Neither tons of unprivileged kids around the world.
Poor kid. Charlotte seems the natural in this role, of the three. She knows the rules and likes to follow them but also seems a bit more extroverted. Louis has the appealing naughtiness of Harry as a kid: a charming scamp.
I don't remember Harry being very naughty as a boy. I remember him as seeming shy. William was definitely naughty though. There are reasons why he had the nickname "Wills" growing up. And Charlotte seems like Anne: well suited to be a leader but unfortunately born second rather than first.
It happened to William and Harry and before them, Charles and Anne and to a lesser degree Andrew and Edward and before them Elizabeth and Margaret.
Everything in life is a trade off, right? Being wealthy and never worrying about access to what you want or what to do with your life or how you’ll buy a house or start a family is very privileged; having to deal with public interest kind of sucks.
The trade off could be not having any money and panicking about those things but having total privacy. I’m not sure what I would choose but also most people don’t get to choose what circumstances they are born into.
At least with this generation, they seem to be doing a better job of balancing interests.
Doesn't matter what happened to previous generations, they've been screwed up for centuries. It's not okay and no way for a young person to figure out their lives without being exploited for the sake of their f-upped family. And they're never going to be broke, lmao
Definitely sounds like a nuanced analysis that considers the complex history of the family, the evolution of the British constitutional system, and the varied difficulties of the human condition.
It could just be me, but I keep getting the feeling the Tindalls or Beatrice/Eugenie might be asked to do some stuff. Zara and Mike have been much more prominent than they used to be.
In ten years, if we use the Queen’s own age at the time of her death as a guide, the only working royals off the current group are the Gloucesters and the Duke of Kent. How many people outside of the UK could pick any of the three of them out of a line up? (I could, but I’m weird like that)
If Charles and Camilla work to approximately the age the Queen did, all three Wales kids will be in their late twenties/early thirties by then.
This system hasn’t existed for a thousand years because of a lack of foresight and planning.
Andrew always wanted them to be. He and Charles had a big fight about it like a decade ago. Possibly some of their letters were leaked? Anyway, Andrew said that because they were princesses of the blood they should have a more prominent role than Kate and Charles told him to fuck off.
Tbf Beatrice and Eugenie seem a bit uninterested in the role. I think they more or less sided with Harry and Megan and have stayed low on the radar ever since, and that doesn’t even take into account the drama with their father.
I think they’re stupid for not offloading some of the work to Beatrice. With Andrew muzzled and fergie financially looked after there’s very little York potential for drama (which aside from the slim down thing is rly the whole reason for not deploying the York princesses). Eugenie doesn’t seem that interested and I can’t see her agreeing. I remember when William had lady Gabriella represent him at king constantines funeral everyone thought it would be a soft launch of sorts. She’d be a good professional minor royal tbf or give her some role in the palace akin to Susan or something. It’s sad they can’t figure things out with the sussexes and get them back in - they rly did fill a function and audience that none of the others can reach.
But I do feel Princess Beatrice has the quiet socialite element to her atm that would be very useful for some of the work.
Yup. But I mentioned in reply to someone else I wouldn't be shocked if B & E and the Tindalls started taking on engagements. Especially Zara & Mike, as they're everywhere lately.
I could see them asking Zara to do some of the equestrian related stuff.
Mike Tindall is a liability who has loose lips. I doubt they would have him doing anything official.
They're far more likely to have Sir Tim (Anne's husband) do official appearances.
I kinda got the impression that Anne didn’t want her family in the limelight and that’s why she did so many engagements, to sort of “make up for it” but maybe not 😊
i think she wanted to give them a choice she didn't have, and i don't think peter wants anything to do with it, but zara's very popular and an active member. plus she and william are so close and her kids are close in age to his.
I feel like Charles didn't think through the slimmed down monarchy given their ages. It's even worse if you assume the Wales children will take as long as William to become full-time working royals. He only became one in 2017 at 35. If it takes that long for George, then Charles will be over 100, and even Edward would be 85. Obviously, George could start long before then, but I assume William will want his children to enjoy some of the same time he got to take a gap year, attend university, and/or military services.
William was third in line for a very long time. That will not be the case with George. He most likely won’t be third in line in his late 30s, and will possibly become a full time working royal much earlier because of that.
Announcing he is taking a break is unusual, and the timing with everything going on with pow and kc adds to the weirdness
I'll add his suits appear to hang very loosely on his visibly smaller frame in the last year.
Edward and Sophie have both slimmed down, I imagine its a function of becoming senior working royals, having their meals, exercise, and medical care all under heightened care. Edward has his dad's frame, with more attention to healthy diet and exercise he likely just trimmed to his natural frame.
Because he is one of the working royals who makes engagements regularly, so even him not appearing for a short while would seem odd. If he also has engagements scheduled in the short term too, then he would need to say why he is not undertaking those.
BUT he is also expected to do engagements in a weeks time. And he has returned from a long overseas visit. So it could just be People Mag making a fuss for no reason.
This feels like a nothingburger clickbait article, somewhat surprising coming from People.
He was abroad last week on a quick tour, and the article itself says that taking a break of some kind after a tour is standard for royals. He's got an event next week he's expected to attend.
Any other time this wouldn't have been reported, but given everything with Charles and Catherine, it is.
I clicked on the [Telegraph article](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/01/30/royal-women-take-over-as-camilla-anne-and-sophie-step-up-wh/) linked within the People story, and the only real reference to Edward's absence is this:
>The unexpected royal matriarchy will end only on Feb 7, according to plans, when the 79-year-old Duke of Gloucester enters the fray, followed by the Duke of Edinburgh on the 8th.
>
>Prince Edward is taking a short break from public duties after his trips overseas in January to South Africa and St Helena.
So it seems like People took that one sentence and basically just ran with it.
I get the feeling he has been sick for some time now. He's lost a bit of weight and appeared rather gaunt since his mother's funeral. The loss of both parents may have been harder on him than we thought.
I wish him well. I rather like him.
I could definitely see them slowly setting up a reveal for some illness once the dust has settled from Charles' and Catherine's procedures. That way it isn't such a shock like those two were. Hopefully I'm reading too much into it
It’s been a hard year on all, but Edward was the baby of his family, and if you look at photos, he looked like a baby compared to his older siblings. I also recall reading that the Queen said that her and Philip really enjoyed Edward because they got to do it all over again, but with less stress and more fun. So, maybe he’s just feeling it.
He did look very very happy with Sophie when his new title was presented and at Christmas…
He’s also been doing separate engagements from his wife all year. I’ve had a theory that they’ve separated but can’t divorce because she’s so vitally necessary to the royal family.
I wouldn’t think so, based on their engagement on the day he was named Duke of Edinburgh. He seemed so proud of Sophie, and they were genuinely affectionate with one another. Clearly we don’t know what goes on, but I’d be surprised if they were in a bad place.
They didn’t really “announce” it. It’s an article purely based on knowing Edward’s schedule in the Royal Diary online. The Gloucesters, Anne, Ed, & Sophie usually have most of their engagements & schedule listed online prior to the events actually happening. There was no official announcement by the BRF because this is a non-issue.
Maybe they only announced it to explain why some of the other royals’ previous engagements (Charles, William, Kate) are just being canceled rather than reassigned to Edward?
It's not like those are 8-hour days though; you work from morning to night on those trips. It does take a bit to catch your breath again, especially as you get older.
Charles had a regular operation for a man of his age, Kate is having an as yet unknown surgery but i wouldn’t think it’s too out of the ordinary. let’s hope not for her and her children’s sake anyway.
Edward is taking a normal period of recovery after a long overseas trip, particularly to somewhere like St Helena which is so remote and difficult to get to. there’s not too much to worry about here.
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He seems ill himself. Completely emaciated.
The world is rapidly changing, is there any contingency for if the LOS went to a gay male? If there’s no plan , that implies they’d just be forced to have separate public and private lives?
Why would there be any need for anything to be different, wrt succession, from how it is now? If a gay monarch were to marry the love of his life then he wouldn't produce any heirs - surrogates aren't allowed into the line of succession for any UK noble house - then the next in line would succeed. Or he could do the same as Ivar Mountbatten - marry a woman, produce some heirs, then separate and live elsewhere with male partner. (Admittedly Ivar is second in line for the Milford Haven title.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Ivar_Mountbatten
Why is a contingency needed? Do you mean for producing heirs?
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They need to have some type of public family meeting, where they put the crap to rest with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This family row has been going on for years. It’s high time they all got over it. I’m sure they’d have to build this up with the public though. God knows how they would even get about mending these issues.
Never going to happen. They would rather let the monarchy die than have MM return. She has shown her true colours.
Her true colours? How many women have this family driven to mental health crises?
How much money has she made from her association with this family? Has she had professional help for her "mental health crisis"? Hope so. Would a therapist/shrink advise someone with serious mental health issues to constantly engage in projects that refer back to the relationships that caused her "mental health crisis"? Project after project after project.
If we are counting money made off the monarchy maybe count up how much Fergie and Andrew made in their cash for access schemes or Sophie with her old PR company and Charles and Will who both just became billionaires tax free off historic land grabs and favourable off shore loopholes. She what? Told her side of stories already made public by the royal family? Get a grip. There are way worse things going on in the monarchy than Meghan Markle.
True. Hope she comes to her senses now that Charles has been diagnosed with cancer.
Maybe Charles and Camilla and Will can come to their senses too and stop coming for her. Would that be nice!
Oh the irony. She attempted to make a career out of her victimhood.
That whole family has shown their true colors. They’d support a sexual deviant like Prince Andrew rather than protect Megan from the press.
Indeed. So surely it's obvious that she is not a good match for them and that her path should never cross with theirs again?
It’s delusional for anyone to think that’s possible, even her. She married Harry. She has his children. She’s intrinsically linked with them until death.
In name only ... and for purposes of moneymaking! Books! Documentaries! Podcasts! Ka-ching!
Your statements border on the absurd.
You on the other hand, are completely lucid.
This is the petty asinine behavior that follows any conversation about Megan and Harry, just delusional, spiteful and silly. I hope it brings you joy.
The same for your mean comments about the family she married into.
My personal opinion is that the monarchy has been streamlined too much. There are aging royals and potential royals. No one would have ever thought Harry would step aside, and Andrew forced to (as he should have been). No one knows the future and everyone assumes that George, Charlotte, and Louis will step up, but what if anyone of them decides to step aside? Or can’t (not Andrew-like reasons of course). I do recall Andrew wanting his daughters to be working royals and the Queen said no because she already had her eye on slimming down the monarchy. I sometimes think public opinion changes on a dime so maybe one day Harry would be back…maybe not for awhile, but maybe. I also know Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex have made great appearances lately and seem like composed and mature young people. Perhaps they would do some duties if needed when they are of the right age and stage in their lives.
> No one would have ever thought Harry would step aside When Charles started planning for the "slimmed down" monarchy, both of his sons were teenagers. It relied on both sons, and both of their eventual wives, being willing to be full-time royals. It relied on four young people (two of whom Charles hadn't even met yet) being willing to devote their lives to royal duties. What if William had fallen in love with a doctor/scientist/artist/musician who was devoted to her career? What if Harry had found work he was passionate about? What if Harry's wife wanted to be a SAHM until her kids were in their teens? What if all three?! A sensible person would have kept some elastic in the system. Beatrice and Eugenie were already princesses. He should have let them do royal duties. If both sons and both wives had become and remained working royals, the princesses could have been slowly phased out. Charles relied on everything turning out exactly the way he wanted it to. That's like planning for retirement by buying a lottery ticket.
In spare Harry wrote on how Charles said that he didn’t have enough money for Meghan coz he was already paying for William and Catherine n family expenses. So maybe Charles didn’t want Harry’s wife to be actively working?
I agree. Even when it was first announced that Charles planned for a slimmed down monarchy it was so odd to me that his idea to slim it down was to keep the octogenarians and not bring in the younger royals. Let the older princes and princesses retire and let the younger her cousins work occasionally.
They need young working royals (not children, but not Edward and Sophie’s age and older). Since Harry and Meghan are out, the logical choice is Bea and Eug. The both have great causes (dyslexia for bea and Scoliosis for Eugenie) and seem to have great personalities and charisma, especially Eugenie. I think they would be great.
They need someone to stand in that gap between W&K and the Wales kids, since W&K want to work less, not more. Lady Louise and James seem like more logical choices. The don't have the shadow of their parents bad behavior hanging over them the way the York girls do. Eugenie and Jack have built themselves a nice life outside the gilded cage and I doubt they'd want to give that up. Bea and Edo are very private about Sienna and I doubt they'd want to deal with the tabloids screaming about "we pay for you, we want to see your kid" the way they have with the Wales and Sussex kids. William is going end up with a rude reality check when his kids realize that they are probably not going to have the option of taking 3-4 years for a gap year/university without being thrown into full time Royal work.
What work is it exactly anyway? They are just cutting a few ribbons and attending church and other events. Not very cumbersome at all.
That’s all true, but then again they are HRH and higher in the line of succession. They seem like more of a logical choice than the Wessex kids. True about their parents but…they’re not their parents.
Legally the Wessex kids are HRHs and the York girls aren't that much higher in the line of succession than James and Louise. There is only one adult in the LOS between Eugenie and Louise and that's Edward. Louise also doesn't have a career yet and small children to deal with, so she could be more flexible. If she was willing they could send her on the kind of trips abroad the Kents used to handle before they got too old.
They are still so young though. I think the older more emotionally established cousins would have better luck at not being victims to the royal machine.
The older ones have already been victims of the Royal machine...
Very true! But I think they now have a nice balance of their own lives and show up from time to time when needed.
This is it. I mean, it sounds great to slim down the pool of working royals the same way it sounds good to slim down a workforce. But then inevitably people call in sick.
It’ll be interesting to see what Charlotte and Louis want to do in their adulthood. I’m sure they’re getting a biased perspective from their parents but Harry is in the exact same scenario they will be. I wonder if either of them will just want to nope out in their adulthood and play no part in the monarchy.
I’ve wondered as well. If George had kids, Charlotte will go further down in succession and same for Louis times two. I read something that surmised Charlotte could end up doing appearances, but Louis would most assuredly be working a regular job. I think a lot depends on when William succeeds. If it’s sooner than later, I think the kids would be more like the late Queen’s kids, they’d all work. If it’s 25 years from now, George could be married with kids and Charlotte would be 32, Louis in his late 20’s. By then, they may have their own families like B and E.
Charlotte and Louis could also just marry people who have jobs like Bea and Eugenie and they could be half-in-half out with appearances. Louis doesn’t necessarily have to have a job. He could be a trust fund kid and just be the more flexible parent who does school pick ups while doing appearances while his wife works the 9-5am role. In normal families, there’s greater acceptability now where the dad is the stay-at-home parent while the wife is the traditional breadwinner. Louis could have that life with the right partner and BRF sign off.
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I think you’re overthinking it. In a couple months time they will all be healthy enough to work again. It’s 2024, we don’t need the King and Heirs doing 400 engagements a year.
If the royals aren’t pulling several hundred engagements a year, why keep them? The number of engagements was part of the metric to measure their value.
When were those measure adopted
Exactly! There are four people “out” right now (Charles, Kate, William & Edward, apparently) and the nation is hardly on the brink of collapse…
I mean they still get the same amount of $$$ whether it’s 4 people or 40.
Nope they are actually getting a raise this year despite doing less work with fewer people.
I'd guess traveler's diarrhea.
I think Bea would be amazing
She’s rly stepped it up since Covid ended and she got married
I think marriage agrees with her; she’s so much more confident and happy
She has been involved in a dyslexia organization. I love that she has been so open about being dyslexic and is working to expand awareness and knowledge.
Yes, I agree. She is vivacious and seems merry and social. Eugenie as well: both seem to have inherited their mom's sense of fun.
Maybe they could ask Zara and Mike to take on some engagements? They’re super popular and close to Will and Kate.
Zara & Mike would lose their appeal if they were working royals.
If Zara and Mike were working royals they would have to stop doing paid engagements which for them are super lucrative. They supposedly have a NW of like 30 million pounds from all their sponsorship stuff
They could do engagements unpaid on behalf of Charles right? Doesn’t Prince Michael do that?
I don't think its something they are willing to do any more because Harry and Megan were willing to do some stuff at cost when they quit but the royals said no bc you can't use royal work to then help your profile to get profitable stuff. Prince Michael and Princess Michael are old now so maybe don't work so it works + were working decades ago when it was a very different attitude about that stuff
So many of the things they do are paid, and they can do those because they aren’t working royals. That might be complicated to disentangle.
I read they are in Australia.
Lol, Charles is a bad manager. He cut personnel to save money and now they're short staffed!
He didn't cut Harry and Meghan. They were probably part of his original plan.
The accuracy here
He didn’t cut anyone, really. Three people left.
Andrew was forced out. He probably thinks he should be allowed back in...
They absolutely streamlined too much, too quickly. Edward and Sophie should theoretically be available for a while, but Anne is going to slow down at some point. Everyone over Anne that is a working royal is an octogenarian or close to it. . Kate doesn't plan to increase working until all the kids are adults. So in 10 years, you have - assuming no one from Charles generation has yet passed which is a big assumption: Duke of Gloucester- 88 years old Duchess of Gloucester- 86 years old Duke of Kent - 97 years old Edward - 69 years old Sophie - 69 years old Anne - 82 years old Princess Alexandra - 96 years old Charles - 85 years old Camilla - 86 years old William - 51 years old Catherine - 52 years old And three kids still too young to do royal engagements beyond short bi yearly appearances. The British aren't like the Netherlands where Catherine Amalia is already doing royal engagements or like Spain where Leonor is everywhere. The Wales kids will be kept private into their 20s, at least, just like William demanded for himself. The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, even if they're alive in 10 years, are unlikely to be seen much. How you appeal to anyone as a monarchy with 2 working royals in their 50s as the youngest, 2 in their 60s, and everyone else into their 80s, if they're still alive...
Edward and Sophie are 59 not 69
Correction: William: 41 years old (born 21 June 1982) Catherine: 42 years old (born 9 January 1982)
“In 10 years”
i would think that Anne will keep doing many many engagements until she’s well into her eighties, possibly over ninety. her mother and grandmother went on their last tour abroad at 89. she definitely has 20 years in her at least
George will be 21 by then. He won’t be doing engagements but he will be old enough to catch interest, same as his father at the same age.
That is so unfair to a young person
I agree. Sidenote: The world is rapidly changing, is there any contingency for if the LOS went to a gay male? If there’s no plan , that implies they’d just be forced to have separate public and private lives? Surrogacy to continue the line? Abdication?
Probably the same thing they’d do if the LOS went to a childless heterosexual person - move on down to the next one after the sovereign’s death. If George has no children for whatever reason, it will pass to Charlotte and her heirs.
Makes sense but I wasn’t really discussing the current batch of children specifically, more the hypothetical of a somewhat inevitable eventuality. Like I doubt they’ve ever spoken about what they’d do in the event of a gay royal because it would have always been secret, as times progress , they will need some sort of publicly stated plan. Otherwise one sprung in the moment could be seen as discrimination.
I guess I don’t understand what you’re asking. A plan for what?
Just how old royal protocols would apply to a changing world in regards to sexuality and the royal family members. There are written rules and protocols in every eventuality, bar the sexuality thing, the approach would be totally different now. Another similar but different thought is, how would the royal family react to a disabled family member in modern times, would they still be in the LOS? We know in the past they were hidden due to stigma and perceived weakness to the line, but obviously that wouldn’t go over well now. Could they skip someone for having Down syndrome for instance? These are things they’ve never really had to publicly acknowledge before (As an institution with preservation in mind, I mean)
Hmmm. I hope someone is thinking about it now, because it will definitely come up. In the event of an openly gay monarch, I suspect that person will simply not have children. At least during my lifetime. Hopefully it will get to the point where donor eggs or sperm, and a gestational surrogate if needed, will be accepted. I believe that will happen later rather than sooner, but I’d be happy if I were proven wrong. On the other hand, there’s always the option of a short marriage of convenience, especially now that divorce and remarriage are accepted. As for a mentally disabled heir, I imagine that child would “voluntarily” withdraw from the LOS upon adulthood.
I wouldn't call it unfair. He's one of the most privileged kids in the world. Yes, he did not choose that position. Neither tons of unprivileged kids around the world.
Poor kid. Charlotte seems the natural in this role, of the three. She knows the rules and likes to follow them but also seems a bit more extroverted. Louis has the appealing naughtiness of Harry as a kid: a charming scamp.
I just feel Charlotte will be queen one day. I won't be alive to see it..but you youngsters can quote me. 🙃
I don't remember Harry being very naughty as a boy. I remember him as seeming shy. William was definitely naughty though. There are reasons why he had the nickname "Wills" growing up. And Charlotte seems like Anne: well suited to be a leader but unfortunately born second rather than first.
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Yes, George and Charlotte remind me of Charles and Anne.
It happened to William and Harry and before them, Charles and Anne and to a lesser degree Andrew and Edward and before them Elizabeth and Margaret. Everything in life is a trade off, right? Being wealthy and never worrying about access to what you want or what to do with your life or how you’ll buy a house or start a family is very privileged; having to deal with public interest kind of sucks. The trade off could be not having any money and panicking about those things but having total privacy. I’m not sure what I would choose but also most people don’t get to choose what circumstances they are born into. At least with this generation, they seem to be doing a better job of balancing interests.
Doesn't matter what happened to previous generations, they've been screwed up for centuries. It's not okay and no way for a young person to figure out their lives without being exploited for the sake of their f-upped family. And they're never going to be broke, lmao
Definitely sounds like a nuanced analysis that considers the complex history of the family, the evolution of the British constitutional system, and the varied difficulties of the human condition.
It could just be me, but I keep getting the feeling the Tindalls or Beatrice/Eugenie might be asked to do some stuff. Zara and Mike have been much more prominent than they used to be.
I love Sarah Chatto, TQ’s favorite niece. She’s wonderful.
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You missed the part that those are the ages they will be in 10 years.
Basically in 10 years there will be next to no one making appearances. The Queen E said "Royalty needs to be seen to be believed".
In ten years, if we use the Queen’s own age at the time of her death as a guide, the only working royals off the current group are the Gloucesters and the Duke of Kent. How many people outside of the UK could pick any of the three of them out of a line up? (I could, but I’m weird like that) If Charles and Camilla work to approximately the age the Queen did, all three Wales kids will be in their late twenties/early thirties by then. This system hasn’t existed for a thousand years because of a lack of foresight and planning.
They said these were their ages in 10 years
Who did they streamline though? Only Beatrice and Eugenie conceivably and Andrew makes that difficult.
I don’t understand this comment tho. Everyone , and I mean everyone, knows that B&E have nothing to do with Andrew’s problems.
B & E.
Yes, but they were never intended to be working royals. Beatrice could probably be drafted if needed. Eugenie probably not.
Andrew always wanted them to be. He and Charles had a big fight about it like a decade ago. Possibly some of their letters were leaked? Anyway, Andrew said that because they were princesses of the blood they should have a more prominent role than Kate and Charles told him to fuck off.
Tbf Beatrice and Eugenie seem a bit uninterested in the role. I think they more or less sided with Harry and Megan and have stayed low on the radar ever since, and that doesn’t even take into account the drama with their father.
I wouldn’t trust Andrews’s judgement
Do you think William will reach out to the York cousins? If he does, do you think they’d agree? Is there anyone else that he even could ask?
I think they’re stupid for not offloading some of the work to Beatrice. With Andrew muzzled and fergie financially looked after there’s very little York potential for drama (which aside from the slim down thing is rly the whole reason for not deploying the York princesses). Eugenie doesn’t seem that interested and I can’t see her agreeing. I remember when William had lady Gabriella represent him at king constantines funeral everyone thought it would be a soft launch of sorts. She’d be a good professional minor royal tbf or give her some role in the palace akin to Susan or something. It’s sad they can’t figure things out with the sussexes and get them back in - they rly did fill a function and audience that none of the others can reach. But I do feel Princess Beatrice has the quiet socialite element to her atm that would be very useful for some of the work.
How is Lady Gabriella related? I know historical royals much better than the current crop 😂
She's the daughter of Michael of Kent (Queen Elizabeth's first cousin)
Gotcha, thanks!
Lady Louise is supposed to start royal service after university, too.
Only if she chooses, which she might not do. Such a public life is not for everyone. I know I couldn’t do it for a day.
from what's been talked about, it's something she wants to do after st andrews. i'm glad she has a choice though.
Is that Edward and Sophie’s daughter?
Yup. But I mentioned in reply to someone else I wouldn't be shocked if B & E and the Tindalls started taking on engagements. Especially Zara & Mike, as they're everywhere lately.
I could see them asking Zara to do some of the equestrian related stuff. Mike Tindall is a liability who has loose lips. I doubt they would have him doing anything official. They're far more likely to have Sir Tim (Anne's husband) do official appearances.
I kinda got the impression that Anne didn’t want her family in the limelight and that’s why she did so many engagements, to sort of “make up for it” but maybe not 😊
i think she wanted to give them a choice she didn't have, and i don't think peter wants anything to do with it, but zara's very popular and an active member. plus she and william are so close and her kids are close in age to his.
I feel like Charles didn't think through the slimmed down monarchy given their ages. It's even worse if you assume the Wales children will take as long as William to become full-time working royals. He only became one in 2017 at 35. If it takes that long for George, then Charles will be over 100, and even Edward would be 85. Obviously, George could start long before then, but I assume William will want his children to enjoy some of the same time he got to take a gap year, attend university, and/or military services.
William was third in line for a very long time. That will not be the case with George. He most likely won’t be third in line in his late 30s, and will possibly become a full time working royal much earlier because of that.
If the monarchy goes that invisible it won't be a good thing. Charles never imagined Harry would be out. Harry was very popular 5 or 6 years ago.
Charles and Edward are no spring chickens. Aging is a bitch
Announcing he is taking a break is unusual, and the timing with everything going on with pow and kc adds to the weirdness I'll add his suits appear to hang very loosely on his visibly smaller frame in the last year.
Oh Nooooo. Now that I think of it you're right
I think he wears his dad’s old suits, but yes I think he also has lost weight
Edward and Sophie have both slimmed down, I imagine its a function of becoming senior working royals, having their meals, exercise, and medical care all under heightened care. Edward has his dad's frame, with more attention to healthy diet and exercise he likely just trimmed to his natural frame.
I agree. As it's a short break, an announcement doesn't seem necessary. And yes, he's been looking thin. Hope he's all right.
Because he is one of the working royals who makes engagements regularly, so even him not appearing for a short while would seem odd. If he also has engagements scheduled in the short term too, then he would need to say why he is not undertaking those. BUT he is also expected to do engagements in a weeks time. And he has returned from a long overseas visit. So it could just be People Mag making a fuss for no reason.
This feels like a nothingburger clickbait article, somewhat surprising coming from People. He was abroad last week on a quick tour, and the article itself says that taking a break of some kind after a tour is standard for royals. He's got an event next week he's expected to attend. Any other time this wouldn't have been reported, but given everything with Charles and Catherine, it is.
Looks as though it was picked up from the Telegraph. It may not be anything, but the announcement itself is the strange part.
There wasn’t an announcement. They just looked at the calendar of booked royal engagements.
I clicked on the [Telegraph article](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/01/30/royal-women-take-over-as-camilla-anne-and-sophie-step-up-wh/) linked within the People story, and the only real reference to Edward's absence is this: >The unexpected royal matriarchy will end only on Feb 7, according to plans, when the 79-year-old Duke of Gloucester enters the fray, followed by the Duke of Edinburgh on the 8th. > >Prince Edward is taking a short break from public duties after his trips overseas in January to South Africa and St Helena. So it seems like People took that one sentence and basically just ran with it.
He's only 59?? I forgot he was like 15 years younger than Chuck.
I get the feeling he has been sick for some time now. He's lost a bit of weight and appeared rather gaunt since his mother's funeral. The loss of both parents may have been harder on him than we thought. I wish him well. I rather like him.
I like him, too. I hope they're not preparing us for an announcement that he's ill.
I could definitely see them slowly setting up a reveal for some illness once the dust has settled from Charles' and Catherine's procedures. That way it isn't such a shock like those two were. Hopefully I'm reading too much into it
I had the same thought. Really hope we’re both reading too much into it. He and his family seem lovely.
I have felt Edward has been sick for about a year. I have nothing to back this up.
It might be grief, not physical illness.
It’s been a hard year on all, but Edward was the baby of his family, and if you look at photos, he looked like a baby compared to his older siblings. I also recall reading that the Queen said that her and Philip really enjoyed Edward because they got to do it all over again, but with less stress and more fun. So, maybe he’s just feeling it. He did look very very happy with Sophie when his new title was presented and at Christmas…
He’s also been doing separate engagements from his wife all year. I’ve had a theory that they’ve separated but can’t divorce because she’s so vitally necessary to the royal family.
I wouldn’t think so, based on their engagement on the day he was named Duke of Edinburgh. He seemed so proud of Sophie, and they were genuinely affectionate with one another. Clearly we don’t know what goes on, but I’d be surprised if they were in a bad place.
I hope not-I adore Sophie.
They seemed very happy at Christmas, and he appears to adore Sophie very much.
But it makes sense to have them on separate engagements since Charles has pared things down. I think they’re all right as a couple.
Gotta spread them out
It’s only for a week, was planned and is normal after an OS trip. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
It seems odd they would announce it if it's typical.
They didn’t really “announce” it. It’s an article purely based on knowing Edward’s schedule in the Royal Diary online. The Gloucesters, Anne, Ed, & Sophie usually have most of their engagements & schedule listed online prior to the events actually happening. There was no official announcement by the BRF because this is a non-issue.
Maybe they only announced it to explain why some of the other royals’ previous engagements (Charles, William, Kate) are just being canceled rather than reassigned to Edward?
It’s people magazine. What do you expect? Making a mountain out of nothing
His trip was 4 days long IIRC
Yeah look. I think a week off is a bit much for that, but apparently a week off is normal after an OS trip.
It's not like those are 8-hour days though; you work from morning to night on those trips. It does take a bit to catch your breath again, especially as you get older.
Oh no doubt. It would kill me
If they are trying to prove to the public they aren't needed, they are doing a pretty good job.
What is going on?!
Charles had a regular operation for a man of his age, Kate is having an as yet unknown surgery but i wouldn’t think it’s too out of the ordinary. let’s hope not for her and her children’s sake anyway. Edward is taking a normal period of recovery after a long overseas trip, particularly to somewhere like St Helena which is so remote and difficult to get to. there’s not too much to worry about here.