The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Saturday 27 November 2004

Won't

Prince William, who prefers to have others call him “Will”, gave an interview last week; once again, not only through what was said but also through what was not said, revealed a good bit about himself to those who have been paying attention.  I was delighted to see that we will no longer mince words. Personally, I must confess to have grown tired of it.  To that end, I for one cannot help but sense that the Prince talks a good game about work, the future, and his principles, but when it comes to putting words into actions, Will…WON’T.     

First, the interview: Who among us failed to shake our heads sadly when watching the Prince declare, “If I join the military, then I insist on leading my men on the battlefield. It would be so humiliating otherwise.”   I guess Won’t is sensitive to being humiliated by the decisions of others. Ironic, isn’t it?   But more on that, later.  One thing that many have already observed was that the Prince is a tad presumptuous when it comes to his military qualifications.  A fellow who has had little meaningful training in combat, and rather symbolically gave a pass to all of the D-Day Remembrance services, (including those in Britain), who could not even muster the courage to come down from a balcony during the Cenotaph Ceremony, and disappeared after 25 short minutes, indeed even failing to observe the parade of real soldiers, now finds himself on the precipice of being qualified not only to fight a war, but to lead men into battle?  Hmmm. Was he joking? Sadly, no.   

Some would say that the young prince is suffering from delusions of competency.   Is it his fault or the fault of others who have “mollycoddled” him (his words, not mine) and repeatedly ratified every poor decision he has made?  Remember when he failed to show up to the official launch party for the sole book ever sponsored by the Estate of his late mother?   Rather than stop by to thank these remarkable people for their tireless work, Won’t opted instead to party a few blocks away at a high-profile guido-ish nightclub where he was photographed leaving (smiling from ear to ear) with a group of chums late in the evening.  His formal excuse at the time he declined the invitation to the Wednesday night book launch?  He had an important prior commitment, of course.  Forgive me Sir, but for a fellow who has claimed two times in four months not to want to be “wrapped in cotton wool” you certainly appear most at ease when you are, in fact, wool-wrapped. 

For at his core, Will is a bundle of “won’ts”.  Yes, he does have the courage to face the press, but not the courage to speak meaningfully on any subject:   The evolution of the monarchy?  Too complicated to contemplate.  The influence of his mother?  Too upsetting to discuss.  The very real failings of his father?  Not worthy of acknowledgement.  The accomplishments of his brother? “He’s taking my ideas.”  Please.  I could go on and on.  

The part that causes me the most consternation, though, has nothing to do with what Won’t says (or doesn’t say) in any specific interview.  Instead, it is the five consistent themes that he weaves within each one:  1. The media should leave me alone or I will pout, kick, and scream until I get my way; 2. I want to live anonymously; 3. I obsess over losing control; 4. I have no intention of fulfilling my role any time soon; and 5. I don’t listen to sound advice if it in any way impugns my narcissistic predilections.   Very good.  Well, the problem with items 1 through 3 is that Prince William is clearly on a trip to De-Nile if he thinks that A. the media will leave him alone; B. he is ever going to live life anonymously; or C. that he is in control of his ultimate career.  Kicking, pouting, screaming, or, (in what appears to be his M.O. of choice), hiding are not going to change the reality.  But he has definitely achieved one thing by staying true to the 4^th recurrent theme of the interviews: We are now fairly certain that Won’t is knee-deep in an identity crisis. But does he consistently shun his role and all that comes with it?  Of course not.  In fact, he is quite happy to use his position in order to indulge in fun and unique activities that would otherwise be inaccessible to common folk.   And so at this point it would appear that Won’t has befriended hypocrisy, and so far, is quite pleased with the relationship.    

Surely for a fellow who claims to cling to the notion of control, Won’t seizes the opportunity in the one area in his life where he can exercise total control, and makes honorable choices with respect to the people in his real life, right?  Nope. For instance, consider the way in which he visibly shuddered at the possible humiliating prospect of being denied what he clearly believes is his right to “lead his men” as an officer.  Who amongst us fails to shudder at the thought of humiliation?  Yet Prince William seems perfectly content to subject various friends to near constant humiliation.  Take for instance, the recent case of his one-time girlfriend Kate Middleton, in which she was deployed by the Prince as a vehicle of media manipulation in order to confuse the speculation about his love life.  First, he paraded her around in Klosters, (not exactly a private venue devoid of paparazzi), in order to introduce her to the world.  Then on his birthday, he made sure to be photographed hugging and kissing someone else on the cheek at a polo match where Kate was notably absent. Then in July it emerged that Kate was somewhat akin to an occasional pastime, as she was still his girlfriend, but he was at the same time planning a visit to Jecca Craig in Kenya.  When he got wind that that wasn’t well received by the public, he backed off the original plan and stuck to seeing Jecca in England instead. Go figure.  

These stories have continued to appear with alarming frequency, always with Kate Middleton alternately named as his serious girlfriend with whom he holidayed, or his soon to be ex-girlfriend left by the wayside while William enjoyed the company of more fun-loving, “racy” girls.  Most recently we learned that he attended two different weddings this Fall and left Kate Middleton home for both.  But who is the beneficiary of the public confusion? Who is suffering from it? 

Is Won’t confused, or is Kate being used?  Sure…--perhaps they broke up.  But if so, it is a startling comment on his character that he continues to use his possible relationship with her even now as part of a game whose sole objective is to confuse the media about his life.  Lofty aspirations, indeed.  His actions make clear that he places a significantly higher premium on creating confusion amongst members of the public whom he does not even know, than he does on preventing further humiliation to his most loyal friend from St. Andrews. And what young woman would not be humiliated by being subjected to a public portrayal as a not-quite-good-enough-anymore-but-still-hanging-around-girlfriend?   Think about it.   Interesting that when it comes to humiliation, it is a concept that has no place in Won’ts life, unless of course he is the beneficiary.  And make no mistake: To a head, each of his friends agrees that in William’s opinion, he is the beneficiary of public confusion regarding his life.  To illustrate the point, his so-called friends revealed that recently William entered into a, (get ready for this), “trial separation with Kate”.  They say, “He needs time to think about their future together.”--And what better way, according to the Daily Mail, than to hop on a plane to Kenya and visit Jecca Craig come May?  It is better than fiction, people!   Apparently, these so-called friends claim that he has become “bored with the too square” Kate.  (It’s hard to imagine how a man with his intellect could be bored by a girl who is head and shoulders above him in the brains department, but fair enough.  Perhaps it was her tendency to speak in complete sentences that was the real turn-off?  There is no accounting for taste after all.  Just ask Prince Charles.)   

So the result is a nearly constant succession of stories with the same general theme, and apparent complicity from those in Clarence House who supposedly speak for the Prince. Since William is now promoting himself as a surfer dude, perhaps he should have realized by now that he has probably ridden this wave about as far as it will take him.  But no, he cannot be bothered to issue a simple statement of disgust at the media’s persistent exploitation of this young woman whom one can only guess believed at some point that he loved her, too.  (Why else would she have gone along for this horrendous ride?)   

But perhaps the reason why William is not all that disgusted is because he is himself the primary architect behind the stories: Several of his friends suggest that solely in order to confuse the media, he may have elected to leave his girlfriend at home while he attended the society wedding of one of his best friends. Translation: He might still be shagging her, but far more can be gained in the media wars if he keeps her out of sight. Clearly, that is much more important than hurt feelings from being left home, right? --My how things have changed since April.  (But the so-called racy Jecca Craig is still around, and no doubt due to her more attractive qualities, was included in the wedding.  And lucky for us that she was. Arriving in a costume that was once worn by Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, she showed the world that “subtlety” is her middle name.)   

Is Prince William’s active use of Kate Middleton in the media game illustrative of what he meant when he told us during his 21^st birthday interview that girls who got involved with him “didn’t understand everything that came with knowing him”?  I guess so.  And when some tenacious reporters from the News of the World managed to track the uniquely self-possessed Kate down in St Andrews to ask her about Will’s “racy” fun with Jecca, her sole reply was: “I have no comment to make.”--That’s what “boring squares” say when confronted by tabloid reporters. If there is justice in the world, Won’t may get to discover what “racy” girls say to tabloid reporters at some point in time.  But in the meantime, on Kate went with her life, yet again humiliated by the media--and with the full participation of Prince William in a game that his friends unanimously agree he “revels in”, without care or concern for the collateral damage.    

And speaking of collateral damage, it seems pretty clear that William puts public perception via media gamesmanship on a higher plane than looking after the feelings of others.  Sadly, this includes the most loyal of friends.  Along the same vein then, it seems reasonable to assume that he would also deem acceptable other forms of collateral damage, so long as his public image does not suffer.  And this is a fellow who wishes to lead men into battle…during wartime? That’s interesting. Really.   Just hope you aren’t a member of his regiment.            

- Elizabeth W. King