Go on, admit it.
Underneath your pro-republic, anti-establishment, royalist-shaming exterior…you actually love a bit of Royal gossip.
From the flashy hat choices of Queen Elizabeth right down to the adorable antics of little Prince George, there’s nothing we love more than a bit of a perve inside the world’s most famous royal family, the Windsors.
But one question that often crops up is, er, what does the Royal family actually do? Like, we see them parade a fair bit, and wear fancy uniforms, and waving to crowds - but day-to-day, what's it like to be a member of the Royal family?
Thanks to Business Insider, we now know.
Well, there are 'engagements'. Lots of them.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith is a busy lady.
At the ripe old age of 90, Queen Elizabeth II is still clocking up around 340 'engagements' every year. So, what's an engagement?
These are formal royal duties, which according to Business Insider includes "hosting heads of state, taking diplomatic trips, throwing parties at palaces, opening new sessions of Parliament, presenting citizens with awards, and a whole bunch more."
I WANT TO BE PAID TO THROW PARTIES.
Which everyone has to help out with.
Considering there are around 2000 engagements to attend, 70,000 guests to entertain, 3000 charities to run, and 100,000 letters to answer every year; the poor old Queen needs a hand.
And that's where the other royals come in.
"The Queen’s oldest son, Charles, does lots of international trips with his wife to foster diplomatic relations," writes Business Insider.
"William and Kate have also taken a number of official tours, including a trip to Canada earlier this year."
How could we forget? PM Justin Trudeau had his attempts at a hi-five, lo-five, and even handshake snubbed by Prince George. Ice cold.
Plus a ceremonial role in political things.
Whilst the Queen no longer has an active role in running the country - that was passed over to the Prime Minister and Parliament in 1689 - she still plays her part in the world of UK politics.
She opens each session of Parliament in person (that sounds like a job in itself!), meets with the Prime Minister, and has regular contact with other world leaders, too.
Whilst she can't vote and must remain neutral to political issues, the Queen still must give her stamp of approval, or 'Royal Assent' to any laws being passed through parliament.
Also, she wears the fancy outfit depicted below:
Some Royals work in the military.
For as far back in history as you can trace, royal families have had intense training for battle in order to defend the throne.
But as much as we would love to picture Harry or Wills riding in on a white horse, wearing full armour and wielding a sword - it's not quite the case these days.
Royal participation in the British forces is just the same as it would be for anyone else - Prince William has been a helicopter ambulance pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance for over 10 years, whilst Prince Harry has been in the army for 10 years also, serving two tours of Afghanistan.
Whilst others have normal people jobs.
Wait, what? We could have a member of the royal family emailing us with Outlook reminders one day? Apparently so.
Some members of the Royal Family have taken on super normal day jobs, working in PR, the arts, and even professional sport.
"Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, once worked for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre company, while his wife had her own PR agency," says Business Insider.
"Andrew, the Queen’s second son, worked in government as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. And the Queen’s only daughter, Anne, was an Olympic athlete on Great Britain’s equestrian team."
Other notable non-Royal gigs include Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie (seventh and eighth in line to the throne), who both work in business. Eugenie is an art gallery associate director, whilst Beatrice is a business consultant and philanthropist.
Also, Prince William got to meet Beyonce.
So there's that.
If you want to know more about the royal family - um, be honest, you do - you can dive into their official website, here.
Top Comments
Where do we apply for the party hosting job? Paid for by tax payers ? Sign me up !
I can't imagine anything worse than having to host a bunch of people that you didn't choose and then having to wander around making small talk with them.