I wonder if I could add a few thoughts on Catherine's recently announced patronages?
First, I am so glad that she is now putting together some royal duties. I have said elsewhere on TRF that although the last thing that we want to see is the Duchess overworked, I do think it is time she started work. She is by far the best educated of recent 'recruits' to the BRF, and at nearly 30 years old, and without having very much in the way of 'regular' employment behind her, I did think that it was time that she now actually did something, particuarly bearing in mind that William has a proper professional career. It is also perhaps quite timely for Catherine to start a busier royal career, particularly as Prince Philip and some of the other senior [in years] royals are presumably going to have to be relinquishing some of their patronages over the next few years
To answer a few questions: Yes, it is indeed the practice of many announcements to be embargoed, particularly where there is a royal connection, so as to enable the press to 'get everything in order' [the phrase sometimes used is 'lining up the ducks in a row' so that they have time to prepare the appropriate 'background story' to be released at exactly the same time as the news. If I can give members a recent example, the New Year Honours have just been announced; although they were 'officially announced' on 31 December 2011, the list had been released a couple of days previously so that the newspapers, and particularly local newspapers, could approach those honoured to get their veiws etc. This means that whilst there is an official list in the newspapers, there can be lots of articles appearing the same day in which the recipients say 'I am deeply honoured' / 'I would not have received the OBE without the support of my team' etc etc etc.
Art Charities; just to confirm that in the UK, a BA in History of Art does not qualify someone to work in restoration etc [although I do not know the position with foreign degrees in the same subject]. Restoration requires lots of experience working for master restorers etc. and is generally seen as a post-graduate opportunity. Curating is also something not usually taught in UK History of Art degrees - generally, one then joins a gallery and learns that way. In both cases, though, I think that Catherine's degree could have provided a useful starting point if she had decided on a professional career in either of these two fields.
Scouting. IMHO a fascinating choice. When I was quite young, the position in the UK was that girls were 'Girl Guides' and boys were 'Boy Scouts'. Now, girls can join the scouts, although again, when I was young, junior scouts were known as 'wolf cubs' and sometimes had female leaders. I therefore think it interesting that Catherine is joining the Scouts, not GirlGuiding [as the organisation now styles itself]. In 2012, both scouting and guiding have never been more popular, although what I also find interesting is that royal involvement in the Guiding and Scouting movement 'eased off' in the last 'royal generation' before Catherine. To explain this a little further, the Queen was a very enthusiastic Girl Guide, and was a member of the '1st Buckingham Palace Company' as it was known back in the 1930's. This company was started by the Queen Mother so that her daughter could be a Guide, and other members of the royal family [as in 'royal relatives', rather than in the sense of 'working members of the royal family] and some royal household staff members' daughters also joined the Company. At the same time, a Brownie pack was established at the palace - 'Brownies' is for those girls too young to become Guides - so that Princess Margaret could join in as well. Later, Princess Anne became a member of the 1st Buckingham Palace Company of Girl Guides. The highest award of merit is known as 'Queen's Guide'.
When your humble Diarist was young, Guiding continued to have a very close relationship with the BRF. One of the most senior figures in the movement was Princess Margaret, who became President. There was a large photo of Princess Margaret [in uniform] which hung in many guide halls. The Chief Commissioner, a very important senior position, was Mrs Derek Parker-Bowles, who was the mother of Camilla's first husband Andrew. Although the Countess of Wessex took over as President following the death of Princess Margaret, she seems to be less visible [nothing wrong with that] and of course neither William nor Harry were ever part of the Scout movement. It is therefore interesting to see a more active royal link with the movement being established with Catherine's generation.
The hospice is in Cambridgeshire, so there is a link to Catherine's title.
Action on Addiction is quite an intersting choice. Addiction is, as people here have pointed out, far from glamorous, although interestingly, this particular addiction charity has been one of the more 'fashionable' [if that is the right word] of the addiction charities for 'Society' to get involved with. Going back 15 years or so, one of the most popular fundraising balls was the charity's 'Jester Ball', held in London and all rather grand. The organisation did do quite a bit to remove the 'stigma' behind addiction.
Good Luck to Catherine; I think that royal patronages are what the particular 'royal' brings to them and so there is the chance for Catherine to carve out a real role for herself, rather than being a 'name on a piece of paper' which was the accusation often levelled at Princess Margaret, who in the end, rightly or wrongly, was thought of as rather lazy during the 1960's onwards.
Just my thoughts, and not meant to offend,
Alex
And no doubt Cub volunteerism in N. Wales will be going up as well! That's a nice anecdote about Kate kicking off her shoes to join in the play; she really gets into her role with children and that's a very good indication of being totally involved in her role.
