Prince William of Gloucester???

Question

What exactly would have been Prince William of Gloucester's job within the royal family, had he not died in a plane crash in 1973? Is that job/title an important position by today's standards?

Answer 1

After graduating in 1963, he spent a post-baccalaureate year at Stanford University studying political science, American history, and business. Upon returning to Britain, he took a position with Lazards, a merchant bank.

Prince William was the second member of the British Royal Family to work in the civil service or the diplomatic service (the first was his late uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent in the 1920s). He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1965 and was posted to Lagos as the third secretary to the British High Commission. In 1968, he transferred to Tokyo to accept the post of second secretary (commercial) in the British Embassy. In 1970, the Duke of Gloucester's health began to fail and he was diagnosed as suffering from porphyria. Prince William resigned from the diplomatic service and returned to Britain. For the next two years, he managed Barnwell Manor and began to carry out public duties as a member of the royal family.

Prince William served on some occasions as Counsellor of State in the absence of his cousin, the Queen.

Answer 2

As a grandson of the British monarch in the male line, Prince William of Gloucester was styled Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the style His Royal Highness. He managed Barnwell Manor and began to carry out public duties as a member of the royal family. Prince William served on some occasions as Counsellor of State in the absence of his cousin, the Queen.

Prince William was the heir-apparent of his father's peerages, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden. Upon his death, his younger brother Prince Richard of Gloucester became heir-apparent and succeeded to these peerages in 1974.

If Prince William of Gloucester was still alive, he would have carried on the family name and title as "Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden" and carry out royal duties as a member of the British royal family.

It is not that of an essential job/title since all the members of the British royal family engage in charity work and acting as a representative for different royal events. The “Duke of Gloucester” is only an aristocrat title inherited through birth and there are no real responsibilities or roles attached to that title.