William, Prince of Wales

[Hujambo]

Yeah, not sure why William wanting nothing to do with Harry nor wanting to see his face is a big deal. People are allowed to set up boundaries. While Harry told Scobie that William wouldn't even meet when he'd enlisted the held of a mutual friend, William was moving on with his life.

Meghan doesn't even speak to the man who raised her and gave her her first big speaking role on television and we understand why.

[scarlett210]

I'm not sure why William, spending a quiet Easter with his sick wife and kids (who just found out their mom has cancer) is - what - considered a moral failing at best and sheer laziness at worst? Sure, William, taking leave to help care of his wife undergoing chemo - how dare he!

[Ladybug]

William and Catherine and the kids went to their home on the Sandringham estate for the Easter break from school. The kids have a break until mid-April so we probably won't see William until then. I'm not a British taxpayer, so it's not my place to say if he's out enough or not. But his wife has just announced to the world that she's getting chemo, so I can understand why he wants to just take the five of them to a private, secluded place that they love and can be away from the prying eyes of the world for a bit. William has always prioritized Catherine and the children and I find that admirable.

[canuckcutie]

If William showed up at the Easter service he would undoubtedly have had to walk into the church with Uncle Andrew and then he’d get dragged (as he has done before) for appearing publicly with a sex offender when frankly it’s the King’s choice to have him there - and the King & Queen arrived separately and thus avoided being photographed with him.

The guy can’t win at the moment. If he showed up at the Easter service there would people shitting on him for leaving his ill wife at home, it would clearly be a sign the marriage is kaput etc. I imagine Catherine is somewhat immuno compromised while undergoing chemotherapy so avoiding crowds when not absolutely necessary seems a wise choice to me.

And to answer the point about William taking the British taxpayers for a ride - he is now funded by the Duchy of Cornwall estate. He receives an income from the estate & holdings and pays income tax on that money.

[Ginger]

May 18, 2007 22:57:48 GMT -4 canuckcutie said:

The guy can’t win at the moment.

Correction: there are certain people with whom William can't win at the moment, that's clear.

But there seem to be no mainstream complaints about him celebrating Easter privately with his wife and children this year. Or mainstream complaints about him not cranking out public engagements in the past few months while his wife has been ill. Because it's normal behavior in this situation.

The mean-spiritedness required to be mad about it is, at the moment, confined to the dark corners of the internet (but dying to burst forth into the mainstream again).

[royalwave]

William has made it pretty clear that he puts his immediate family first. Given the history of the way children have been raised within the monarchy, how can you blame him for wanting to break the cycle?

By all accounts King George & Queen Mary's kids had miserable childhoods, and you could likely say the same about some of the generations before them. King Charles' own issues with absentee parents have been well documented, and more recently William's upbringing in a broken home marred by marital infidelity, eating disorders and psychological trauma, intrusive media and ultimately the premature death of his mother had to have had a huge impact on him. He is determined not to make the same mistakes with his own family and I can find no fault in that.

Assuming the monarchy survives, raising a well-rounded future king (and *fingers crossed* supportive siblings) who doesn't suffer from neuroses and resentments, and who knows how to be a good future husband and father himself, will be doing the country a favor. Queen Elizabeth seems to be one of the rare recent monarchs to have had a happy childhood and look how well it served her.

William is not the King, and there were plenty of other family members on hand to support Charles & Camilla on Easter. In my view William was right where he should have been, ensuring his wife and kids had a restful, enjoyable holiday away from prying eyes.

[ahah]

Apr 1, 2024 9:41:37 GMT -4 scarlett210 said:

I'm not sure why William, spending a quiet Easter with his sick wife and kids (who just found out their mom has cancer) is - what - considered a moral failing at best and sheer laziness at worst? Sure, William, taking leave to help care of his wife undergoing chemo - how dare he!

I think that it's a reflection on the great sacrifices that Queen Elizabeth made for the job, and the high expectations people have as a result. People lost their minds when the Queen wasn't seen after Diana's death, because they had formed an expectation that she suffered losses and still showed up. Over and over she kept calm and carried on, and it became the norm. So now that we see royals acting human, people are not sure what to do with it.

[Ladybug]

May 18, 2021 10:34:59 GMT -4 ahah said:

People lost their minds when the Queen wasn't seen after Diana's death, because they had formed an expectation that she suffered losses and still showed up.

And yet, what she was really doing was caring for her grandsons when they'd just suffered a devastating loss. In that instance, she put her family first and suffered the wrath of the public for it. It wasn't about an expectation of keeping calm and carrying on for the public. The grieving mourners wanted the royal family to publicly perform their grief the way they were and couldn't comprehend why they wanted to process Diana's death privately. Even the Spencer family wanted a private funeral. Both Harry and William have talked about how the public reaction to Diana's death was very difficult for them to comprehend and compounded their grief.

[ahah]

Apr 2, 2024 9:49:30 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

May 18, 2021 10:34:59 GMT -4 ahah said:

People lost their minds when the Queen wasn't seen after Diana's death, because they had formed an expectation that she suffered losses and still showed up.

And yet, what she was really doing was caring for her grandsons when they'd just suffered a devastating loss. In that instance, she put her family first and suffered the wrath of the public for it. It wasn't about an expectation of keeping calm and carrying on for the public. The grieving mourners wanted the royal family to publicly perform their grief the way they were and couldn't comprehend why they wanted to process Diana's death privately. Even the Spencer family wanted a private funeral. Both Harry and William have talked about how the public reaction to Diana's death was very difficult for them to comprehend and compounded their grief.

I'm aware of the history. I don't find fault with the Queen for acting as she did. I'm simply pointing out that the ways she responded in that instant was not the norm for her. As a result, the public comes to expect the royals to be super human -- which feeds into the notion that God chose them to serve.

[ladyboy]

I fault her for not flying the flag half mast when Diana died. It came across as petty and mean. It did not read that she was putting her family first in the moment - it read as Protocol Over Feelings and she seemed COLD. She - and the RF- are public figures with no real reason to exist, so they should bow a bit to public sentiment if they want to keep their rarified place. I'm all for replacing them with holograms personally but I think Charles et al may object to that plan.