Prince William has recently come under fire being called “lazy” and “workshy” because he has only carried out two royal engagements so far in 2016, this being on top of his part-time job as an air ambulance pilot.
In defence of the future king, Kensington Palace sources have said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has rules on rest periods, therefore William is not allowed to do any type of work on his off days.
However, the CAA has come back saying that those claims are untrue and that pilots are free to do what they wish on their rest days, including holding another paying job, as long as they aren’t flying an aircraft.
In 2015, The Duke of Cambridge made 87 public appearances in the U.K and 35 overseas which many are comparing to the 94-year-old Duke of Edinburgh who made 128 more than his grandson.
On average, William works 80 hours a month as a pilot for East Anglian Air Ambulance on a four days on, four days off rota, where pilots work about 8.5 hours per shift. A full-time pilot works around 120-130 hours per month, which would put the prince in at two-thirds of their time.
A royal source said that William has a restricted number of royal engagements that he can carry out because “there are mandatory rest days enforced by the CAA, when you’re not meant to go off and do other work because it’s not rest”.
A spokesman for the CAA said that the palace staff are “confused”, saying: “It’s true that you can only work a certain number of hours in any given period, but to suggest that pilots can’t do anything else on some rest days is totally unenforceable.
“When they are having rest days their time is their own, and they can do what they want, including carrying out royal duties.
“We check pilots’ shift patterns and the Duke is fully complying with CAA rules within the rota he is working, so his days off are his own.”
He added that CAA rules state that pilots cannot fly more than 800 hours in a 12-month period.
Kensington Palace responded noting that William’s diary had to include enough rest time between his roles as a pilot and as a senior member of the Royal Family.
A Palace spokesperson said: “The Duke is incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to carry out his skilled work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. It is a great opportunity to connect directly with the community and he considers it very rewarding to be part of a team that provides such a valuable, and often life-saving, public service.”
Despite the rumours that some of his colleagues at East Anglian Air Ambulance have complained that he does not work enough, a spokesman person for the charity said that Prince William is “very much part of the team” and was doing “a very important job” at its annual meeting this past Saturday.
Personally, I feel getting real world experience is an important part of Prince William becoming king and he has lots of time until his chance at sovereign. What are your thoughts, do you think Prince William is “workshy”? Let us know in the comments.
No I do not think that he is work shy do not forget that he also has two small children as well, he could be working behind the scene in some of his charity work that the public are not privy to as well.
He doesn’t have two small children, somebody else had them.
I think this is poor attempt of the press to start a narrative because there is no major event to fill their paper columns. William has two part time jobs. At least he has a job! And a very noble one at that!
Having a boring time on Fleet St? Time enough to make up stories, tap Royal phones, start unnecessary friction. On both sides of the pond the press are low-lifes.
Renny and Rex are right!
People really go out of their way to criticize the royals. And silly articles such as this don’t help matters!
I believe because of his involvement with a “real” job he will be a better king as he sees life as it really is for so many people! The press is always putting the negative on something redeemable.
Please, he sits on his whiny behind having his gruesome mother-in-law feed him cheese toast whilst his aged grandparents work their behinds off. He is a loathsome, nasty jerk.
Honestly, if someone came to me or almost anyone else with this kind of idiocy, they’d be laughed off the planet. Say what you will about the monarchy as an institution, William is still a very busy young adult, with a demanding and sometimes dangerous part-time job (yes, he’s lucky to have another income), a busy wife and two growing children in addition to the full-time job of trying to be all things to all people – most of whom he’s never met! He seems like a decent enough sort and a hard working kind of guy – get off his back and let him work out his life as best he can. You’d like the same kind of consideration, I’d bet.
No, he’s not – he’s a spoiled, arrogant, petulant, sly, self-serving man-child. He needs to grow up, and his phony, lazy wife does, too. Let’s face it, those pretend royal children of theirs are raised by a whole slew of nannies.
Oh, so you know the man personally, do you . . . or is this just your way of slagging someone whose lifestyle consists of a flying job, a father of two small children whose mother is frequently off on her own Royal duties, plus being the patron of several charities? Unless you have intimate knowledge of their lives, lay off the insults. Better still, stay away from Royal Central.
Again I ask, why do you care so much about people who have little effect on you?
Frankly, he is a young Royal who works outside the family business. He is doing what he wants and don’t you all think that if HM the Queen wanted him in the family business full-time, he would be?