LONDON, England — Everywhere the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge go, the cameras are never far behind. The British media’s appetite for photos and stories of Will and Kate is insatiable. After all, the royal couple are youthful, charming and photogenic — not to mention new parents. Not since Princess Diana has the British press been so smitten.
But the honeymoon may be over.
On British television and in the tabloids, the Duke of Cambridge is taking a drubbing. Headlines accuse Prince William of being a “lazy,” “work-shy” and a “part-timer.”
The condemnations began shortly after a recent report in The Times newspaper revealed a generational gap in the royal workload.
It shows the Queen and Prince Charles each attended more than 300 British royal engagements in 2015. Prince Phillip — at age 94 — tagged along for 217 events. That’s more than the 87 events William attended, Harry‘s 49 and Kate’s 62 — combined.
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“The reality is the younger royals have much different ideas of duty than the older royals,” says British Columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer.
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Critics concede that Kate is a new mother; Harry recently retired from the military; But what about William? The future king has only appeared publicly on a couple of occasions so far this year. He was notably absent at the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards on Feb. 14, even though William is the academy president and the awards party was hosted at Kensington Palace — his official residence. Reports in the British tabloids also claim that William has been working fewer hours at his part-time job as an air ambulance pilot.
“He doesn’t seem to be doing more than two-thirds of the hours of a full-time pilot,” says Hartley-Brewer. “And yet we’re not seeing him doing many official duties either.”
“The Duke combines his work as an air ambulance pilot with his charitable work and Royal duties,”a spokesperson for Kensington Palace said in a statement.
“The Duke is incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to carry out his skilled work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance… to be part of a team that provides such a valuable and often life-saving public service,” the statement adds.
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Royal author Phil Dampier says, until recently, William typically enjoyed positive press.
“We remember him as a 15-year-old boy and the world was very sympathetic towards him when he lost his mother. Then, he grew into a handsome prince when he was about 18 or 20 and he was very much the royal ‘pin-up.’ And then he was part of the ‘golden couple.'”
But Dampier says the British press are now portraying William as “a kind of prematurely middle-aged, balding recluse, who’s gone missing in action.”
Adding to the Prince’s ‘PR’ problems, some staff at Kensington Palace are threatening to strike over a proposed pay-cut. And the palace itself recently underwent a taxpayer-funded multi-million-dollar makeover.
Royal watchers say the family is rarely at their official residence. They spend most of their time at their rural estate in Norfolk, England, away from the spotlight.
“Living up in Norfolk, he can see his friends, have a private family life and be away from the press,” says Dampier.
He adds William partly blames the press for the death of his mother Diana, in 1997, and he’s now a fiercely protective husband and father.
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But duty is calling. William’s grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, are patrons for around 1200 charities and organizations — and they rarely take a day-off.
But after her 90th birthday this spring, the Queen is widely expected to step back from the spotlight and William will likely face increased pressure to fill the void.
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