bitchy | Jobson: Prince William really thinks he can be a part-time monarch

I agree with many commenters that this week’s “attacks” on the Prince and Princess of Wales are likely a temporary blip. They’ll be forgotten – or shelved – as soon as William and/or Kate jazz-hands their way through a public event. The women’s Rugby World Cup starts today, incidentally. It feels like some courtiers are probably suggesting an emergency appearance to quell the British press’s general unrest. It would be sort of funny if Will and Kate still refuse to go outside though, and god knows, they’ve dug in their heels before and refused to take advice. Anyway, let’s enjoy this moment while we have it. The Daily Mail’s columnists have been ripping into Will and Kate all week, and now it’s Robert Jobson’s turn to get some punches in.

Prince William is moving his family to a “forever home” in a bid to build happy memories after three tough years, The Sun exclusively revealed last week. However, according to an expert, the downsized monarchy could come at a huge price. Royal commentator and journalist Robert Jobson told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that the father-of-three should be ”careful” of what he wishes for. Chatting to The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson, Robert said that Prince William, 43, could ”become less connected to the people”.

“People do turn out when they see, particularly people like Sophie Wessex and the new Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward. They turn out in droves. They like that connection. And if you lose that connection, the monarchy actually loses something that it’s about. I think you’ve got to be careful what you wish for.”

But for the time being, as William is changing ”things the way he wants to”, the expert said fans of the Royal Family will just have to ”wait and see”.

William’s time to become the future King is still away – and in the meantime, Matt Wilkinson said, ”he’s very much focusing on his young family. Remember, Charles as King doesn’t have a very young family that he has to make sure he’s at home when they get back from school […] – that’s what William enjoys. ‘He enjoys the school run, and he wants to bring his children up in the countryside. ‘His life is very different to what King Charles’ is. ‘I know the late Queen Elizabeth II […], she worked extremely hard when she was bringing up her children, but that’s what William perhaps is choosing not to do. But it’s a different era as well.”

However, in Robert’s eyes, ”it’s not a question of choice – it’s a question of duty. I think that William has got to be quite careful whilst doing this balancing act.”

While Robert was understanding of the family going through ”a difficult time” and raising three kids, ”the role of the monarch is one where duty has to come first. I don’t think there’s any way around that unless you want to have a part-time monarch or a president. The reality is that is the job. It’s a job for life and it’s a job that’s pretty relentless.”

[From The Sun]

“I don’t think there’s any way around that unless you want to have a part-time monarch or a president…It’s a job for life and it’s a job that’s pretty relentless.” At this point, these people WISH they could get William and Kate to commit to being “part-time.” Here in America, part-time would mean working something like twenty hours a week. When was the last time William put in twenty hours of work in any given week? A tumbleweed just rolled by as I asked that question. So, never. When was the last time Kate put in twenty hours of work in a MONTH? Yeah.

Basically, I don’t buy that the roles of king or Prince of Wales are these “relentless” jobs which need a man’s undivided attention, and I completely reject the notion that William couldn’t do the fakakta school run AND work twenty hours a week. The idea that William has to “choose” is a false argument, and they know that too. It’s not that William is rejecting the idea of balancing royal work and fatherhood – it’s that he’s openly quiet-quitting and refusing to do the bare minimum, all while enjoying the perks and privileges of his position.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.