The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Friday 22 August 2004

Dry Summer Wrap-Up 2004

1. Dried Up

The fountain designed to celebrate the life of Diana Princess of Wales opened on a beautiful, sunny July morning.  The Queen gave a wonderful commemoration speech, filled with words and sentiments that seemed to encapsulate the Diana we all loved.  It was, however, the silent sadness of Princes William and Harry, which seemed to take on the loudest voice.  As the two young men sat and listened intently to their grandmother, the expression on their faces conveyed more than any speech ever could.  I had been one to champion her sons to speak at the fountain dedication.   I realize now that to them there are no words.  Sometimes, silence truly is golden.   

By the way, that was the high point.  There wasn’t exactly one low point, because almost everything else surrounding the fountain, including most especially the event that precipitated its being built, has been of one type of low or another.  In terms of the design, it all started out on the wrong foot for certain critics, (who were clearly unacquainted with the “silence is golden” rule), when the Committee picked an American, Kathryn Gustafson, to design it.  Seeming not to care about silly triflings like, for instance, the fact that her proposal was the best, the naysayers opted for the more conventional approach of criticizing the design based on the nationality of the designer.  Loudly.  But it was all for naught.  As the unveiling revealed, the fountain truly is an amazing work; radiating sophistication, beauty, and causing a collective shift in paradigm for what a fountain should be. --Similar to the way in which Diana herself caused a collective shift in paradigm for what a Princess should be.  Various kinks inherent in the engineering of the fountain caused a temporary draining and closure.  Unsurprisingly, this met with the tact and grace one would always expect from the jeering British press, who could barely contain their happiness while snapping pictures of the empty fountain encircled by a temporary fence.  However, (hyperbole aside), the fact is the kinks are temporary, and the closure will, in the final analysis, be an historical irrelevancy. —As will many of the commentators who penned vitriolic missives aimed at the members of the Selection Committee; members who, history will judge, tried their hardest to select a design befitting the inimitable Princess Diana.  Watch this space. 

2. Dry Out!

Memo to Prince Harry: It’s getting old.  While I don’t begrudge you your youth and the right to get hammered at two-day clips, do me a favor and try to refrain from flipping me the bird while I have just sat down to my morning coffee.   You’re cute, and whimsical, and anyone with an ounce of honesty will acknowledge that you are breath of fresh air.  Having said that, (and I do hope you are totally insulted at the idea of being called “whimsical”), there remain a handful of us out there who see you as something more than that.  So do us a favor, and sober up. 

3. Dry Run

We all appreciated the fact that Prince William participated in the Sport Relief Run for Charity last month. (Insert golf clap here).  But, was that really the best way he could have done something worthy of his role this summer?  Negatory.  A more meaningful demonstration would have been to show up to one of the D-Day Commemoration events.  There were more than a few in Great Britain, actually, including some held before he went backpacking in Norway.   It seems especially ironic that he passed up this important opportunity since he is at least mulling over the notion of joining the army after university.  And unless my memory is playing tricks on me, I think I even recall a recent quote from him about really only being interested in joining the forces “if (he is) allowed to fight.”  What better way to show your appreciation of the meaning behind that noble concept than to publicly honor the sacrifices of the many World War II Veterans whose service changed our lives? 

4. The Dry Light of Reason

I freely admit that I hold Prince William to a higher standard than most of the royal family because he strikes me as a person with some uncommon traits and principles.  It goes without saying that he is also likely to be the next long-serving Monarch.  Considering his future role, it would be helpful if he does a bit more to develop those traits and principles, and also lead by example.  Having said that, it turns out that William is becoming quite a philanthropist at 22.  The establishment of the Broad Cairn Foundation to administer charitable donations on his behalf a few years ago was only the beginning.  He is a regular and generous contributor to various causes, and has been reported to do other things flying below the radar, such as anonymously manning suicide hotlines at St Andrews, and other tasks.  He is not a person who seeks public recognition for his philanthropy, and has found a way to make financial contributions doing things he enjoys, such as playing multiple polo matches for charity in the summer.   

The problem is that his role, including YES his present role, requires more than silent philanthropy.  –Although, the fact that he engages in so much of it is beyond admirable.  There exists a second prong that is being wholly neglected.  Like it or not, his role requires some public appearances at important events.   He simply must do more than participate in a charity Run.   He must show up to an event that commemorates the service or accomplishments of normal people.  To fail to do so during his entire four month break from university, can only be termed a wasted opportunity.   

However, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the reports, albeit unconfirmed, that Prince William decided to give Kenya a pass this summer in favor of loyalty to his friend Kate Middleton.  That falls under the “rare trait” category discussed above.  For those of you wretched Americans out there, the comparison of Michael Phelps’ decision to forego the last race in the Olympics in favor of his teammate will not be lost on you.  As both William and Phelps have shown, sometimes gold isn’t in the medal, it’s in the mettle.

***

Finally, in an occurrence that can only be termed symbolic of my entire summer, I regret to say that when we switched servers for our email, all of your earlier emails sent to me in response to prior columns were lost in the transfer.   I would love to cast blame on someone else, but in fact the occurrence was “user error”…mine.The real negative here isn’t merely the loss of your emails, but rather the fact that so many of them were thoughtful and deliberative.  I was looking forward to including them here.     So, I thank each of you who wrote, and please do look forward to a “Your Mail” segment in the near future, assuming the five people who read this column decide to write again..

- Elizabeth W. King