PART-TIME PRINCE WILLS’ 20-HOUR WORKING WEEK
Well, he is a modern working father and husband, says the Palace
He HAS been stung by recent criticism that he is ‘workshy’ and a ‘reluctant royal’.
So sources close to Prince William spoke out in his defence yesterday, describing him as a ‘modern working father and husband’.
A senior aide also revealed that the future king works an average of 80 hours a month so he can combine his royal and charity work with his job as an air ambulance pilot.
Claiming the Duke of Cambridge’s hours were in line with Civil Aviation Authority regulations, the aide insisted he had the backing of both his grandmother and father.
‘It’s a demanding role involving both day and night shifts,’ said the source. ‘But the Duke relishes the challenge of being a modern working father and husband, combining his royal and charitable duties with this work as an air ambulance pilot.’
The prince has so far carried out just two official engagements this year. In a sign of just how rattled the royal household has become by repeated attacks on his commitment, William’s bosses at the east Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) service also spoke up to insist he is doing ‘a very important job’.
A spokesman for the charity maintained that the future king, who has worked as a pilot since last July, was ‘very much part of the team’. William’s public role has been subject to increasing scrutiny after it emerged that his 94-year- old grandfather, Prince Philip, undertook more official engagements than the young royals put together.
The Duke of edinburgh clocked up 250 official duties at home and abroad in 2015, compared to the 198 conducted by William, Kate and Harry combined.
To add to the sense of unease, he inadvertently blundered into the debate over the EU in a speech last week, saying the UK’s international partnerships were the ‘bedrock of our security and prosperity’. The prince has also been lambasted over his commitment to his ‘day job’ as an EAAA pilot, with unconfirmed sources complaining he wasn’t pulling his weight and preferred to live the life of a country squire. ‘He’s hardly ever on shift,’ it was claimed.
William, Kate and their two children live in a ten-bedroom mansion on the Queen’s Norfolk estate – in addition to their taxpayer-funded Kensington Palace apartment – and it has been suggested his flying job was secured to suit his domestic arrangements.
Yesterday, apparently shaken by recent criticism, sources revealed for the first time that William works an average of 80 hours a month, with his royal and charitable duties on top.
Kensington Palace, which has always insisted the prince is fully committed to his ‘primary’ role as a pilot, last night said the figure is based on his ‘part-time’ role which allows him to juggle other duties. However, it is likely to raise eyebrows given that he will be undertaking only his third engagement so far this year when he attends Wales’ Six Nations rugby match against France on Friday in his role as patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.
CAA regulations limit flying hours to 90 in any 28 consecutive days. William, whose 80- hour month is roughly half of a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job, donates his salary to charity. One insider said: ‘We have always been clear that over the course of the year, the monthly average would be approximately 80 hours on shift. This also takes into account mandatory rest days, in line with CAA rules.’
However, one aide argued that with the Queen and Prince Charles already working, there is simply no need for the third in line to the throne to be a full-time royal at this stage.
‘equally, The Queen and the Prince of Wales are supportive of the duke having his own career outside of royal duties whilst we are in the unprecedented situation of three working generations of the royal family,’ said the aide. An official spokesman for the prince said of his flying role: ‘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.’
William is one of 12 pilots who respond to around five calls a day with the EAAA, which is understood to employ both full and part-time pilots.
Speaking at the weekend, a spokesman said: ‘We all feel he’s very much part of the team.’
‘Life-saving public service’