Design the perfect program for an heir!

[TLLK]

Canuck I have to agree with you regarding cultural differences between royal families. The Japanese Imperial family requires their emperor/heir to participate in religious ceremonies that are intertwined with the monarchy. Jordan's CP Hussein,Morroco's Moulay Hassan, Liechtenstein's Alois and Albert's future heir  will wield greater political power than most of their peers and will have to have the necessary instruction in their duties that will not apply to other heirs. Europe's constitutional monarchies differ in how much involvement by the monarch is permitted ie: Monarchs in the NL and UK read a government prepared speech from the throne at the opening of their respective parliaments. On the other hand the Danes observe from a gallery.

  I believe that observing a parent/grandparent going about their royal duties is also beneficial. Former King Juan Carlos kept then Prince Felipe at his side all during the coup attempt even though he was barely a teenager. HM believed that was a teachable moment for his heir. AFAIK all of the constitutional monarchies permit their heirs to ascend to the throne at age 18 so I do believe that some preparation does begin with dialogue, observation and participation.

As an educator I believe that each monarchy has to find the best fit for their individual heirs so he/she can meet the unique challenges of their future role.
Double post auto-merged: November 11, 2014, 09:03:32 PM

BTW thought that preparation for heirs deserved its own thread and I've started one in the Royalty Today section.

[TLLK]

 Having considered @Lady Adams summary of CP Victoria's education/preparation for her future role as Queen Regent of Sweden, I thought this would deserve its own thread.                                                                                                                                                                         This is your opportunity to design the perfect preparation program for an heir to the throne. If the heir is not yet 18 and will need a regency then you can still fashion a bespoke program for them. :)

EXTRA POINTS awarded if you can design one for the future heir of Monaco who should make his/her debut very soon!!!!

[cinrit]

SC, why not move the discussion from the Cambridge section to here?  I think this is a good idea, since it can encompass all royal families, not just the BRF.

Cindy

[Lady Adams]

My question was specifically related to Wills, so I'd like that portion to stay in the original thread.

However, if people want to discuss other heirs here, I'm fine with that.

[SophieChloe]

Thanks @Lady Adams  :hug:

[TLLK]

Thank you Lady A and I agree that the part of regarding William should stay there. However I felt that since it was in the "William and Harry Attend Rehab Reception" that it would be difficult for others to find if it wasn't in the Royalty Today forum.
Double post auto-merged: November 11, 2014, 10:25:26 PM

1. Start with attendance at royal events at an early age if appropriate. Start with the simple balcony appearance, parade or brief religious service to get acquainted with the behavior expected at these events. (However allow for a departure if under the age of 8.)
2. Begin to learn the national symbols and their significance to the nation: flag, national anthem, coat of arms, when age appropriate.
3. Consider beginning to learn a second language in elementary school.

[TLLK]

Thank you!!! Ugh just lost my "plan."
Double post auto-merged: November 11, 2014, 10:57:51 PM

As they move from childhood into teen years: Consider an opportunity to travel and do volunteer work within the realm ie: Make a difference day-NL. Have a chance to attend school/long school break outside the realm to broaden horizons if culturally acceptable. (This may not be an option in nations with a conservative culture.)ie:QEII's decision to send her sons to schools in Australia, New Zealand and Canada for a term and HGD Guillaume attending Beau Soliel in Switzerland.

[SophieChloe]

[mod]Just to let you all know I have split the "William & Harry to Attend Armed Forces Rehabilitation Reception" thread to create this thread : Prince William - Preparation For His Future Role to continue the discussion regarding William. I hope your posts are where you want them to be. If not, please let me know. :flower:[/mod]

[Canuck]

Thanks, SophieChloe!

[Curryong]

It's been traditional for royal males to go the prep school followed by public school route. It was also a good idea to send the Queen's sons for a term at a school in a Commonwealth country. Charles loved his time at Timbertop in Australia and I think it would be good for George to do that. I believe William missed out on that because it would have been too soon after his mother's death and Charles didn't want to send him away.

However, having said that, I rank the ability to speak two or more foreign languages highly. If they are spoken fluently even better. So I think a year at a top French or Swiss boarding school, learning, at the least, French and German, would be excellent. This could happen in the heir's early teens.

[tiaras]

Unless they are from the British royal family and their first language is English ,chances are they already speak 2 other languages at  home .
The preparation should start at university level , subjects like business ,international relations ,tourism etc should be taught /chosen compared to Williams art history / geography course and Harrys lack of university education whoch leaves them completely ill prepared  .

[Canuck]

I agree languages are helpful, though I think those can be learned in their home country as easily as at a boarding school abroad.  The idea of spending some time overseas in a country linked to their own seems to me a good one, though I wouldn't limit that to a semester abroad in school (spending a few months overseas working/learning about something, as Victoria did in Asia and Will in Africa, seems just as valuable to me). 

Something I don't think has been mentioned yet is building ties between monarchies.  We're past the age when that happened naturally because they all married people from one another's families, so it would be nice to see the heirs getting to know one another when they are teenagers or young adults through joint activities or short visits to one another's countries.  There's not much point in the heirs building ties with government officials from their or other countries as they won't be in office by the time they take the throne; by contrast, the other heirs in their generation are the people they'll be seeing for the rest of their lives at ceremonial events and foreign visits.

[TLLK]

I agree Canuck that it is an excellent idea because as you pointed out most of these men and women will be occupying their roles for decades. I do know that the Scandinavian heirs have done events together to promote the region. The  European CP couples who married in the late 1990's through 2012 were invited to a weekend at Het Loo in the NL about  a month before Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne. (I do believe that Charles and Camilla were invited but declined.)

So for the future I do believe that organizing events or even informal gatherings so the heirs of a similar age/stage can meet would be an excellent idea.

[DaisyMeRollin]

Oh! An interesting topic! Which thread can the initial quote from Canuck be found?

I think we've kind of grazed upon this in a previous thread, but at face-value, I've always regarded the continental monarchies more progressive and egalitarian. I've wondered if it was the societal influence, being that Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands are all top-notch in regards to real GDP, social programs and education. I think the pairings of this current generation speak to and are representative of their respective societies' priorities and progressiveness. 

I remember someone referencing elitism still being upheld as the UKs societal default and it astounded me, in regards to the conversation at hand in that thread. Way to shoot yourself in the foot there, buddy-rina!  :no: I still find it down-right ludicrous that veneration of anachronisms are applauded on that island when the continentals obviously have their finger on which way the wind is blowing.

Adapt and overcome.

I may have to mull this over, but.....Liberal Arts are becoming a coin flip, unless you plan on teaching. One of the reasons that I can agree with others that William didn't make the most pragmatic choice.

[Curryong]

The British monarchy has adapted. The way it operates now is vastly different to they way it was even thirty years ago. The monarchy in Britain still exists after others have failed and it's popular with its population. I don't see that respect for some traditions makes Britain inferior or less progressive than others.

Of the monarchies that you've mentioned Crown Prince Frederik does less in a socially progressive sense than Charles and his wife is regularly criticised for her extravagance. Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway performs relatively few engagements in her native country. She is often overseas.

[cate1949]

French and German are nice and all that - but do not be so eurocentric!  Think globally - cause the world is a global community.  Arabic perhaps - certainly Chinese - Spanish is spoken by many people on this planet.

Internship at the UN.

And language instruction should begin as a very young child - get a tutor who speaks another language.  If you learn two languages simultaneously as a child it affects the synapses in your brain so you have the ability even as an adult to learn more languages with relative ease.  The older you get - the harder it becomes to be multilingual. 

[DaisyMeRollin]

The British monarchy has adapted. The way it operates now is vastly different to they way it was even thirty years ago. The monarchy in Britain still exists after others have failed and it's popular with its population. I don't see that respect for some traditions makes Britain inferior or less progressive than others.

Of the monarchies that you've mentioned Crown Prince Frederik does less in a socially progressive sense than Charles and his wife is regularly criticised for her extravagance. Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway performs relatively few engagements in her native country. She is often overseas.

Though I was speaking in terms of progressing at the will of progressing with regards to their respective societies, yes, I have to extend credit where credit is due, but it has been behind the curb in comparison.

Take primogeniture laws for example: Sweden and the Netherlands in the early 1980's. Belgium and Norway in the 1990's. Last I read, the UK is still in a limbo period until the addenda takes effect. Not that the following hiccup is relevant now that W&K's first-born is a boy, and nor is it indicative of Britain as the head of The Commonwealth, but this did pose an interesting question not too long ago.

Some Commonwealth countries still without royal assent on primogeniture law change - Telegraph

Then we have the differences in the constitutional roles of the monarch as Head of State. From my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong), we could compare and contrast the executive roles in terms of Parliament/Riksdag (sp?)  of the monarchs from the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Sweden: Because of The Compromise of Torekov in the early 1970's, the reigning monarch cannot stick its nose in formation of government or any parliamentary proceedings. The speaker of their parliament is the one who nominates/appoints PMs.

The Netherlands: As far as I know, execution of executive power of the standing monarch in terms of dissolving their parliament (which is the voice of the electorate), is usually contingent on the resignation of an entire party cabinet.

Which, the precedent in the lack of transparency with Charles's meddlings, what does the future bode?

Prince Charles's letters to ministers to remain private, court rules | UK news | The Guardian

Anyway, fun stuff! Just thinking about TLLK's ideas. To extracurricular clubs and scholastic achievement societies at the teen-age level require community service hours in the UK? Lifetime philanthropy is foundational.

Sorry. This is now slap-dashed response. My chatterbox has been chatterboxing at me.  :wacko: I lost the original post to the log-out timer. I should really adjust that.

[TLLK]

Well look who rolled in? Hi Daisy!!!!

[Curryong]

I don't think promigeniture was really a burning issue in the BRF until William's marriage, Daisy. After all, unlike some other monarchies there were to be two kings in succession on the throne for the next fifty years or so. (That should see me out!)

Because 16 realms in the Commonwealth have the Queen as Head of State that presents the Parliaments of those countries and the UK with a legal issue which other monarchies in the world don't have to face. It's unique.

As with all such legislation it's going to be a drawn out process. However, surely that is better than the knee-jerk reaction which occurred in Sweden for example, where Carl Gustaf was presented with a fait-accompli without consultation, in the matter of promigeniture in his family.

I have already expressed my anxieties about King Charles The Meddler. I am trusting to his discretion when he gets to the throne as well as his mother's example. She has been meticulous in her constitutional duty.

[Limabeany]

The British monarchy has adapted. The way it operates now is vastly different to they way it was even thirty years ago. The monarchy in Britain still exists after others have failed and it's popular with its population. I don't see that respect for some traditions makes Britain inferior or less progressive than others.

Of the monarchies that you've mentioned Crown Prince Frederik does less in a socially progressive sense than Charles and his wife is regularly criticised for her extravagance. Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway performs relatively few engagements in her native country. She is often overseas.

But in those countries, the press isn't under threat of being left out of royal engagements if they dare criticise, the UK government/Monarchy is quite feudal in ita treatment of the press, thus the media is quite careful to avoir criticism, except for a select few, the rest tread with kid gloves

[snokitty]

^  :thumbsup:   :nod:

[Curryong]

The British monarchy has adapted. The way it operates now is vastly different to they way it was even thirty years ago. The monarchy in Britain still exists after others have failed and it's popular with its population. I don't see that respect for some traditions makes Britain inferior or less progressive than others.

Of the monarchies that you've mentioned Crown Prince Frederik does less in a socially progressive sense than Charles and his wife is regularly criticised for her extravagance. Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway performs relatively few engagements in her native country. She is often overseas.

But in those countries, the press isn't under threat of being left out of royal engagements if they dare criticise, the UK government/Monarchy is quite feudal in ita treatment of the press, thus the media is quite careful to avoir criticism, except for a select few, the rest tread with kid gloves

If the media didn't know that the BRF sells newspapers/documentaries then they wouldn't play the game, would they? The media knows the royals are popular.

I have Danish friends. The Royals are barely criticised in Denmark. I think they are all terrific, but you could hardly say the Crown Prince and Princess (the equivalent rank of Charles and Camilla) or Prince Joachim and wife are over-worked. 

[snokitty]

The BRF doesn't work any more than any other royal house, some work even less than their counterparts. They also support some good causes as opposed to some BRF royals only wanting to do Art and Sports.

[TLLK]

The British monarchy has adapted. The way it operates now is vastly different to they way it was even thirty years ago. The monarchy in Britain still exists after others have failed and it's popular with its population. I don't see that respect for some traditions makes Britain inferior or less progressive than others.

Of the monarchies that you've mentioned Crown Prince Frederik does less in a socially progressive sense than Charles and his wife is regularly criticised for her extravagance. Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway performs relatively few engagements in her native country. She is often overseas.

But in those countries, the press isn't under threat of being left out of royal engagements if they dare criticise, the UK government/Monarchy is quite feudal in ita treatment of the press, thus the media is quite careful to avoir criticism, except for a select few, the rest tread with kid gloves

If the media didn't know that the BRF sells newspapers/documentaries then they wouldn't play the game, would they? The media knows the royals are popular.

I have Danish friends. The Royals are barely criticised in Denmark. I think they are all terrific, but you could hardly say the Crown Prince and Princess (the equivalent rank of Charles and Camilla) or Prince Joachim and wife are over-worked. 

I have to agree that Queen Margrethe and her family are very, very popular. Their days worked during the 2013 year were significantly less than their counterparts in the UK though especially when compared to Charles, QEII,  DoE and DoC.  Joachim and Marie were equal with Kate, but less than William. The CP Pair both had tallied ninety days of work each. Henrik was less than Margrethe, Frederik and Mary with 63 days.  :) There have been two recent books by Trine Villemann  that are critical of the DRF and their role.

As far as I can tell, the Spanish and British lead with the most days worked with the other European courts following. The Jordanians are good at keeping the media informed about their engagements, but it is harder to tell with the Gulf States, Morocco, and Asian monarchies IMO.
Double post auto-merged: November 14, 2014, 12:02:32 AM

One question that I would have for the Danish monarchy applies to the future heir Christian. Will he be required to find a non-Danish future spouse like his grandmother, father, uncle etc..had to do?

[Limabeany]

"Had" to do? @TLLK Why?