Skip to main content

Is Prince William a closet republican?

https://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/article-1342036353320-13ecbed2000005dc-162249_362x220.jpg
Kate Middleton and Prince William (Image: Metro)

It's not like The Daily Mail to complain about any member of the royal family. It's been a long time and has come about under somewhat surprising circumstances. They are annoyed with 'workshy' (their words, not mine) Prince William as he took his wife Kate Middleton and their two children for a discreet, yet brief, skiing trip - and the cheek of the couple who decided not to inform the press.

Now, there are many reasons why I, and perhaps many other media junkies, would roll our eyes about The Daily Mail's (and Daily Star's 8th March front page) moan. It isn't really their business to know the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's every whereabouts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are perfectly entitled to escape the limelight for a few days. Sure, the Mail, being the second highest circulated newspaper in the UK that possesses the most number of people in the world actively seeking gossip on their site, emphasise their stories about Prince William are among the most popular. But that doesn't give them the automatic right to know his every step.

Despite this debacle, the whole paper whine has fascinated me - not because of the backlash it has caused, but of the fact that none of the media had any idea of this holiday until a series of photographs of the royal's trip were randomly revealed. Historically, wherever the royals were, there was a big chance that prior to the planned trip, it'd be mentioned in some capacity. For the press to be blind about this is significant not just to the industry and their relationship with the family, but more revealing, for Prince William as he is breaking the rules of being a typical royal in Modern Britain.

Prince William has been a media target ever since his birth. Being the first son of heir apparent Prince Charles, and Princess Diana, he was always seen as the most powerful and influential individual - similarly with his first born, George from 2013. Throughout William's childhood, he has been used to his parents constantly in the public eye, especially between his parents' highly publicised split in December 1992 and Diana's untimely death in 1997, when he was just 15 years of age.

William was raised during the time when the 'tabloid' phenomenon was reaching its peak in popularity. So when an apparent royal scandal would occur, it'd be made a bigger deal than first deemed. Divorces and marriages to non-royals weren't so widely reported and noticed pre-Murdoch. And William would notice that his parents were the centre of attention and hence he'd be a prime paparazzi target.

Brilliantly portrayed in Steve Hewlett's BBC documentary series Reinventing the Royals in February 2015, it was obvious to see Prince William's discomfort of the press's prodding. As he matured, and the royals' press office became more particular in what went to print, their strained relationship has reached a new gear, more so over the past five years when he married Kate.

I wrote on this blog over three years ago about how Kate could walk into the trap Diana fell into unless she kept sweet with the family she married into. Since then, it is reportedly clear she has achieved this and she hasn't been exposed of any scandal as of yet. But I suppose back then, I was oblivious to the fact she has a husband who likes to keep things low key.

William and Kate have tried very hard to portray their nuclear family as 'normal' and 'down to earth', yet while his father Charles appears to thrive on royal duties as too does Queen Elizabeth, William, second in line to the throne, sees it almost as a chore. Sure, he seems to enjoy playing an integral role with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and Football Association (FA) as Vice Royal Patron and President respectively. However, unlike his father and grandmother, he avoids political photo opportunities and obviously won't inform media where he vacates. And as portrayed in a recent Channel 5 documentary series, Inside Buckingham Palace, frequent media appearances are important duties for the family, or the public would be 'asking questions'.

The public opinion of course is vital to the royal family, and their aides recognise William and Kate as the most popular. Perhaps, if it wasn't for them, more than imagined may ask what the point of a monarchy is today. However, as William isn't keen on key media duties, I question if he wants to be a royal at all. After all, it wasn't his choice to be one, he was born into it.

I don't want to speculate anything, particularly about the future of the monarchy. Yet, as William isn't embracing duties his father and grandmother thrive upon, come 30-40 years from now, King William V may be seen as the Radical One, the Secret Republican, who wants to simply be 'one of us'. Should this be the case, nobody would want to stop him.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The ultimate Bond review

Bonds from left to right: Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and George Lazenby (Image: Daily Express) Earlier this year, I set myself a challenge - an unserious one at that. yet it was something I took seriously. For years, I have been fascinated by the James Bond franchise but only based my interest on Daniel Craig's films, which were the only ones I had seen up to that point. April this year, I couldn't answer the important questions - what was my favourite Bond film? Who played the iconic character best? I could tell you which song I rated the highest because I knew and love each of them - I feel the 'Bond theme' is a genre of its own, they are that good. So over the last six months or so, I did it. I watched all 25 films, in order from Dr No to No Time To Die. Yes, there are two other 'unofficial' films - Never Say Never Again and the 1967 version of Casino Royale. While they included Bond as the protagonist, they aren...

JSPrice Person of the Year 2024: Elon Musk

Elon Musk and Donald Trump (Image: AP News) When TIME Magazine picks its 'Person of the Year', it's never because the title's editors 'like' a certain individual or group of people. The 'accolade', if you ever want to call it that, is often chosen based on an influencer who has delivered the greatest impact or had a 'big' year, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the said person/people's agenda. So when the title picked Donald Trump this time around, it's not because the editors enjoyed how he defeated Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States. It was because he had one crazy 2024. There were times when we were led to believe he could be behind bars, having appeared in court for at least four different, serious cases. The Politico website has an excellent ' tracker ', so we know exactly what he's been accused of. Despite this, on Monday 20th January 2025, Trump will be sworn in for his second te...

A divided world cannot afford another Trump term

Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin (Image: The Atlantic) This time next month, we get to find out whether it is Kamala Harris or Donald Trump to replace Joe Biden as President. For the first time since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 , the chief in the White House is not seeking to fight on.  Biden didn't want to step back. Right up until his final decision, he stubbornly insisted he was the right person to take on former President Trump for a second time. However, questions were being asked about his wellbeing as the 81-year-old had been seen stumbling his words and steps , panicking key Democrat politicians and donors . Their warnings were stark and quite honestly, if he was to carry on by the party's convention, I doubt he'd have been endorsed by his peers. He, nor they, could afford any division when there is threat of another Trump administration looming. It's hard to define Biden's presidential legacy. I suppose he secured it in November 2020 when he defeated Trump w...