Camilla-Queen Consort?

I could challenge you in the ‘guess what I did’ stakes having to return to work as a lawyer when my son was 11 weeks old maddy, but as lemsip said, for goodness sake. I worked long hours and ran a home without having any ‘staff’, just a cleaner for a couple of months after going back to work while I sorted out a routine, but it’s not a competition. I didn’t have to do it in the glare of the public eye, commenting on my figure, what I wore/said/did, and waiting to pounce on any perceived slip.

lemsip

oh, for goodness sake!

What do you mean? Don’t you think that my comment is valid? Why not? It’s true whether you think it’s valid or not!

oh, for goodness sake!

Well however hard they are perceived to work, one thing is certain, they don’t do the laundry, or most of the cooking, or most of the shopping, or the cleaning, or the changing of the beds, or the redecoration, or most of the gardening, or the research to get the best deal such as energy deals, and a million and one other things involved in running a home. The reason that we all know they don’t do these things is that we know they employ staff. Staff do all these normal things and much more besides. When I went to work, I worked full time as a primary school teacher from when my youngest child was six years old, and I had a nine year old and a ten year old as well. My husband also worked full time at his job. We didn’t have staff, we don’t have staff now, not even a cleaning lady. We ran our home without help, and the only help we had was a neighbour taking our daughter to school when she took her child to school.
I believe that when people say the royals don’t work hard, that this what they mean. Because really, they don’t work hard!

One or the other.

M0nica said at 12:13 : They read up extensively on every place they are visiting.
I said at 12:31 : I now have a vision of Prince Charles … looking up the internet about flooding in Braemar ...
I said at 13:06 : its not hard work … if someone else does all the research and gives you the brief to read.
MollyGo said at 14:00 : I find it easier to organise them myself rather than parrot what someone else has written
I said at 14:58: Senior people in organisations get briefed. They don't parrot things back,

Anybody see any criticism of anybody Royal there?

Maybe mastering their brief requires some application of the grey matter; but its not as hard as finding the source material, collating the information into a digestible brief and presenting it in accessible ways. And then mastering the brief as well.

This analysis has been brought to you by Alegrias Research Studies Inc. I hope you find it useful and it has saved you actually finding out the information for yourself.

Nor I MOnica but I know someone who will disagree.

Are they any different from the Directors of any large comoany who have Personal Assistant's and Aides and all the rest.

I, for a while spent some time as part of the support group for a senior director of a big company. All the mechanics of their working lives was done by others, meetings arranged, travel and hotels booked, research done - and they worked very hard, mastering their briefs before any meeting, ensuring they knew who they were seeing , understood everything that was going on in the company. talking with accountants, engineers.

I really cannot see the difference between how they work and the RF.

No, I wasn't criticising them for it. I said they did it and anybody trying to say they spent hours getting ready for visits needs to bear that in mind.

So it’s OK for senior people in organisations to get briefed, but at 13.06 you were criticising the senior RF for having someone do the research and hand them a brief.
Whatever!

Ah, the mystique of the Royal Family....

Senior people in organisations get briefed. They don't parrot things back, they take the brief on board and assimilate it. But maybe our Royal Family don't do that and they spend hours and hours doing their own research on Licoricia of Winchester.

www.princeofwales.gov.uk/diary

Precisely, we don’t know whether someone else does all their research- but we think we know. We don’t know whether they keep track of what they wore, (the media certainly do).
When I am doing presentations, I find it easier to organise them myself rather than parrot what someone else has written because it may be incorrect or not how I would say it. I expect , but I don’t know that the RF do too.

The point is Mollygo, its not hard work if somebody else works out your schedule and does all the booking, if someone else does all the research and gives you the brief to read. Its not hard work if someone else manages your wardrobe and keeps track of what you wore and when. Its not hard work if your wardrobe mistress (is that a thing?) knows what you like to wear and sources it for you.

Maybe they do work hard, but the things cited are not good examples of them working hard. Because they don't do these things. So what do they do?

Well she might go shopping for her own party frocks from wherever. Likewise she might have her groceries delivered. I work hard, but I have someone else to iron clothes. Re Prince Charles, imagine the headlines if he was caught spending a lot of time online e.g. on GN instead of working.?

M0nica

Whydon't the RF work hard. There is mpre to their work than spending 10 minutes grinning at people and retiring. Every occasion has to be booked, planned.hey read up extensively on every place they are visiting. They also have programmes and charities they are deeply involved with and do work with and for that is not photographed and published. they do immense amounts of travelling, time away from home and children, I would also think that the sorting out of their working wardrobe must be tedious, not offending people because they have seen the outfit before, probably buying clothes you would never choose to wear normally, a bit like school uniform even if it does glitter.

I would think most 9-5 office jobs is less tiring and stressful than theirs.

I now have a vision of Prince Charles sorting out his own Outlook Calendar while looking up the internet about flooding in Braemar and ironing his own shirts.

Kate is well known for wearing the same outfit several times. I'm not convinced she pops down to M&S to buy her own party frocks.

I agree MOnica.

Well said MOnica

Whydon't the RF work hard. There is mpre to their work than spending 10 minutes grinning at people and retiring. Every occasion has to be booked, planned.hey read up extensively on every place they are visiting. They also have programmes and charities they are deeply involved with and do work with and for that is not photographed and published. they do immense amounts of travelling, time away from home and children, I would also think that the sorting out of their working wardrobe must be tedious, not offending people because they have seen the outfit before, probably buying clothes you would never choose to wear normally, a bit like school uniform even if it does glitter.

I would think most 9-5 office jobs is less tiring and stressful than theirs.

I don’t agree adaunas. I put the proper amount of effort into my work in the public sector but there was so much more work to be done, tighter deadlines, so much pressure and much longer hours in the private sector.

Interesting. Working hard is the effort you put into your role. I guess I’ve always worked hard both as a parent and a teacher. I’d hate to have to say anything else.

I didn’t work hard when I worked as a lawyer in the public sector. Moving to the private sector was a baptism of fire.

I did bugger all when I was a civil servant, and got promoted, too!

Work hard has a different connotation for all of us. Try telling a refuse collector that teachers work harder than they do, or that GP’s work harder than nurses or that anyone works harder than mothers.
Working hard is the effort you put into your role, whatever it is, so I expect that applies to Camilla too. Anyone on GN think they’ve never worked hard?

Yes. “Made a commitment “ might be more accurate.

I think ‘working hard’ has a different meaning in Royal circles!