William: Military training RAF/SAR/EAAA

[TLLK]

william was given all the credit for the rescues by the media and there were photo ops[/quot


@sandy-The press chose to give William credit but he never claimed that he was the one doing all the work. Most reasonable people can understand that this is just a way to sell papers/earn clicks. I would think that EAAA team members realized this might happen but William's presence also showcased the work that EAAA did and the corporate donations soared during the time that he served with them.  :thumbsup: :happy:

[amabel]

Not that many years. Career pilots can be there for 25 years. So you want the future King to play pilot? To me it's like Marie Antoinette playing normal.

I would rather he did something useful for a few years than cut ribbons. He's hardly Marie Antoinnette because he chose to follow a path that interested him for a few years   .and most of the British Public clearly felt the same

[sandy]

If he does not like cutting ribbons then maybe he should give up the perks and privileges and step down. He got the copter job on his own terms and was not treated just like the others.

[TLLK]

I would rather he did something useful for a few years than cut ribbons. He's hardly Marie Antoinnette because he chose to follow a path that interested him for a few years   .and most of the British Public clearly felt the same

Thank you @amabel for your perspective as someone who lives and pays taxes in the UK!
William only worked for EAAA for a couple of years while still performing royal duties and as it has been pointed out the majority of those polled by UK You Gov were in favor of him doing so. Now he performs royal duties full time and like QEII and Prince Harry has high favorable ratings from those who are participating in the UK You Gov polls/ratings. His EAAA time, doesn't seem to have had a negative impact on how the British public view the future monarch.

[amabel]

The heir can be quiet but can also be deeply interested in how he can make a difference as a future King. I don't see why it is beyond the realm of possibility for William to support patronages and set up his own charity. And of course attending openings of hospitals and so on is also part of the work.

He does support patronages and has set up his own charity..but he clearly prefers a more active and practical role...

[TLLK]

@sandy-Read Prince William's page on the BRF website to learn more about his patronages/charities/Royal Foundation.  :happy:

the british monarchy website - Google Search

[wannable]

His aim is to unite charities doing the same thing (at least in the UK), his latest about patronages, charities is they all compete for the moneys. Good for him, he is factually seeing the recent past, present to move forward to the future. In other words, charities closing going bankrupt.

[amabel]

His aim is to unite charities doing the same thing (at least in the UK), his latest about patronages, charities is they all compete for the moneys. Good for him, he is factually seeing the recent past, present to move forward to the future. In other words, charities closing going bankrupt.

I think he is right.  There are far too many charities out there and he was right IMO to spend a few years doing soemthing hands-on and practical instead of "opening hospitals " or contributing to the hundreds of charities.

[amabel]

I think that it is possible he wanted to do the Heli job with the air ambulance because of his Mother.. that he wanted to be able to take a role in rescuing people who were ill or injured.. so although he might have over all preferred to be on active combat duty in the Military he elected for this as the best job he could do.  Since he was not required then for full time royal duties, I think it was a good use of his time.. in that it attracted attention and donations for the Air ambulance.. at no extra cost. Setting up more charities to add to the thousands out there would not be a good idea...

[Princess Cassandra]

I think that it is possible he wanted to do the Heli job with the air ambulance because of his Mother.. that he wanted to be able to take a role in rescuing people who were ill or injured.. so although he might have over all preferred to be on active combat duty in the Military he elected for this as the best job he could do.  Since he was not required then for full time royal duties, I think it was a good use of his time.. in that it attracted attention and donations for the Air ambulance.. at no extra cost. Setting up more charities to add to the thousands out there would not be a good idea...

I hadn't thought of that, but it makes so much sense.  And you can see why some of those cases hit him so hard.

[sandy]

I don't think his mother should be responsible for William's decision in this case. I think had she been alive she would have encouraged him to take on more royal duties and charities. William did say  he liked to fly copters. He also did not actually do the medical work on the patients rescued. There was an extra cost since taxpayers pay for royal security guards. What William should have done was to establish a fund to help training for air ambulance workers. And those who could have real lifelong careers .William could merely "dabble" in it for a limited time.
Double post auto-merged: October 09, 2019, 02:58:35 PM

I think that it is possible he wanted to do the Heli job with the air ambulance because of his Mother.. that he wanted to be able to take a role in rescuing people who were ill or injured.. so although he might have over all preferred to be on active combat duty in the Military he elected for this as the best job he could do.  Since he was not required then for full time royal duties, I think it was a good use of his time.. in that it attracted attention and donations for the Air ambulance.. at no extra cost. Setting up more charities to add to the thousands out there would not be a good idea...

I disagree. He could have stepped up and from what I gathered of the Queen renovating KP she did expect him to work more. I think Diana would have wanted William to be prepared to be monarch and step up royal work. 
Double post auto-merged: October 09, 2019, 02:59:12 PM

-This was your earlier comment when you claimed that he started out "top heavy with patronages related to sports."

@sandy-William had 15 patronages early on (2005-2010). Of those 15 patronages, only 3 were sports related. Mathematically that means that only 1/5 of his patronages were sports related leaving the other 4/5 related to: conservation, the arts, healthcare, education, etc...
If you truly believe that 1/5 is greater than 4/5 than yes I believe you have been misinformed as to what were William's early patronages. This is why I linked the BRF website with Prince William's patronages earlier. If you take the time to read it, you will discover that his patronages are a balanced mix of arts, conservation, the military, healthcare, community, and yes...sports.
William is the President of the Football Association. It is reasonable to expect that one of the royal presidents would be present at matches.  :) The Princess Royal, The Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of Kent,  Prince Harry, the Duke of Kent etc...also attend matches related to their sports patronages.

Now did you confuse "patronages" with "engagements when you made your earlier statement?

As to Centrepoint, William has visited this patronage publicly and privately for fourteen years now. He averages about two public visits a year and also makes private unannounced ones.  :happy: If you take the time to read the "engagements thread" for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge you'll have the opportunity to see where @wannable, @sara8150, and I along with others take the time to post information from the Court Circular.

Wills becomes patron of Di's charity

Now  it's been two years now since William left his job at EAAA and his patronages, appointments and duties have grown and will continue to grow in the future.

He was seen more at the Sports related patronages.

[wannable]

In reference to the YouGov poll of his time working for the RAF/SAR, EAAA, I am one who would have voted in favour of.

The British Monarchy has too many working royals as it is, time for Her Majesty to reduce it. Take out the cousins, Andrew and eventually disappear Ed/Sophie. With the Commonwealth et all, highlight the important events with the POW, Cambridge's and Sussex's. That's it.

[sandy]

Charles is going to be 71 next month. Camilla is 72. She has been taking time off of tours. She could retire in the next few years or cut way way back on appearances. Charles obviously does not have the capacity he had twenty years ago. People age.

I don't think the two couples can do all that work to be honest. He may have to compromise with his plan. suppose there are maternity leaves for the two duchesses. Realistically I doubt the two Princes can do it all.

[wannable]

I believe Charles will reduce it when HMQEII passes away. That will mean more moneys for him to distribute with the DOL/SG.  And William with the DOC.

The revenue from the DOL and DOC estates is used to fund the public, private and charitable activities The charitable activities to date is increasing in Private, Surprise and Embargoed because of Operational Costs.

[sandy]

Still an aging couple and only 4 adults could not realistically do it all. It seems rather Utopian to me.

[wannable]

Depends: Charles wants to reduce, William wants to Unite Charities and Harry depends on Daddy's DOC and in the future Daddy's DOL/SG approvals. 

[TLLK]

Old video footage ( 2011 and 2013) from when William was still flying with RAF's SAR in Wales.

Prince William the Helicopter Pilot: Rarely Seen Footage - YouTube

Prince William at RAF Valley - YouTube

[sandy]

He was required to spend time in military service.

[TLLK]

@sandy-The UK did not require British men to do compulsory military service in the 21st century. Now by tradition most of the men in the BRF did pursue military training and service, but they're not required to do so. Prince Edward attempted to join the Royal Marines but dropped out and the Duke of Gloucester didn't do either. :nod:

One of William's more recent piloting trips.

Prince William marks 30th anniversary of London?s air ambulance service by flying helicopter | Watch News Videos Online
Double post auto-merged: October 11, 2019, 04:10:28 PM

Like most heirs to the throne in Europe and the Middle East, military training and service is an expected part of the their preparation, but not all monarchs/heirs participate in it ie: Japan's monarch/heirs.

[wannable]

True! Only during WWI and WWII the UK government carried out the Military Service Act and the National Service Act respectively and exclusively for those two WW, meaning their voluntary military depleted so compulsory was carried out.

A third government decision which still is in force to date is the Korean War act, basically voluntary military service, their full time military service when signing up they added 2 more years.

He was required to spend time in military service.

The British royal family is a unique exception to the country's tradition of volunteerism, as all male royals are required to perform military service.[citation needed](This claim needs to be verifiable) Wikipedia and other war blogs use the brackets because there is no reliable source to make such claim. This claim is based on King's and POW's would defend their country from Vikings, Saxons, historical wars by fighting with their armies. It may be that this way people think its 'required' that the Monarch and heir (or members of the line of succession have to go to war)

[Curryong]

It is incorrect that all heirs to the British throne have had to have military training in their past, ie the Army, for the plain and simple reason that except for the Cromwellian period there were no standing armies in Britain until the Napoleonic period when Britain was in danger of being invaded and the extremely small knot of an army (based in London) began to be expanded and organised, and in fact the British people did not want armies posted everywhere, as memories of that Civil War and its cost lasted for generations.

The eldest son of King George III, who was Prince Regent for years, was never in the Army. There was only a very small British army in his youth. Charles I was never 'in the Army' until the Civil War, and he and his heir the future Charles II virtually 'learned on the job' after royalist armies were raised from the population, at the beginning of the war.

The first Prince of Wales to have any formal training in the Army whatsoever was the future Edward VII in the 1860s and that was extremely brief. His eldest son Prince Albert Victor was only in the Army for a short while and as a second choice. He and his brother were expected to go into the navy for a while in their youth and in fact the future George V did just that.The present POW, Charles, went in the Royal Navy as well. His heir, William, spent most of his military training time in the RAF.

It's true that medieval King and their heirs were expected to lead armies, but, in Britain anyway, there were no standing armies to enter or get training from at that time. Henry VIII was never in the Army. In fact there were no large standing armies, only militia, in Britain until the 18th century, and armies for overseas service were just raised as the need arose (one of the reasons Hanovarian troops were used on the British side in the American revolutionary Wars, (George III was King of Hanover) and why the East India Company found it necessary to found their own Army in India.)
Double post auto-merged: October 11, 2019, 09:08:35 PM

By the time George has finished university he may wish to do something else besides military service and IMO his father, grandfather is unlikely to stop him. There was an expectation on Charles that he would follow his father into the RN. There was no such expectation put on William (Harry always wanted to go into the Army) and if he had desperately wished to do something else then he would have been allowed, IMO. In my previous post I wrote about numerous heirs to the throne of GB, who had no military training at all or expectations put on them to do so.

[Princess Cassandra]

I hope I'm not repeating myself, but I recall an interesting comment from Prince Phillip. He said he encouraged his younger sons to go into the military, because he felt there wasn't much else that they could do! Times have certainly changed since then. And I agree that if the younger children are called to do something different their wishes will be respected.

[sandy]

I have to ask though, why Edward was given such a hard time by his family (and the media) for leaving the military if this was not mandatory for royal males. William was said by the press that since he would someday be head of the Armed Forces he would need to do "stints" in each of the military branches.

[amabel]

I have to ask though, why Edward was given such a hard time by his family (and the media) for leaving the military if this was not mandatory for royal males. William was said by the press that since he would someday be head of the Armed Forces he would need to do "stints" in each of the military branches.

It is not mandatory.... but for some time it has been tradtional for the male heir to do some military training as he is going to be Head of the Armed forces.. and William has done this.  Edward did not look good because he undertook the Marines.. and then dropped out.  even if he found he did not like it or it was too tough for him.. he could have finished off his training and then moved on to something else...
Double post auto-merged: October 12, 2019, 12:26:37 PM

I hope I'm not repeating myself, but I recall an interesting comment from Prince Phillip. He said he encouraged his younger sons to go into the military, because he felt there wasn't much else that they could do! Times have certainly changed since then. And I agree that if the younger children are called to do something different their wishes will be respected.

True at the time when his children were still young and looking for something to do.  And Andrew clearly enjoyed the Navy and wanted to be in the military.. But that was over 30 years ago and times have changed and it is now acceptable for "non duty" royals to undertake other jobs such as in business which were thought to be too controversial for even junior royals years ago.  And within reason I think that younger children of the Monarch will have freedom to do most jobs which they would enjoy rather than being pushed into the armed services or cutting ribbons...

[wannable]

It's quite remarkable Hannah Furness from broadsheet The Telegraph was given access to follow William, "One Day at the Duchy"

Some new things:

William has travelled to France multiple times to learn from French farming. 
William school run for George (and Charlotte now) is sacred.  So like a middleclass dad, he takes them to school and then
William at the KP team office sits at his desk to work; checks his box and starts replying emails, reading reports, etc.
William is since 2 years ago much much closer to Charles, they speak almost every day in a FAQ/Q&A in reference to the Duchy
William still visits the Queen regularly for their monarchy chats.