Gee whiz, it might benefit many of us to not sit in judgment and instead reflect on our own lives, eh! Wowza with the rush to judgment in here. Good grief, and thanks be to heaven for the more sound, thoughtful and reasonable voices who have articulated their less strident opinions.
I guess there will always be those who can't get enough of
on those royals for anything and everything that doesn't meet up with media vultures and 'royal followers' self-centered and high-minded approval!
IMO, Prince Harry is the 'bee's knees,' right along with his lady companion MM. Whether they are in it for the long haul or not, I wish them well. IMO, MM likely has been and is very supportive of Prince Harry in his desire to come into his own and to craft a meaningful and productive role as a royal. Part of that, as Harry obviously sees it, is being as forthright and open as possible, particularly in relation to the public work he is doing with his charities. He's certainly protective of his privacy, and I personally think he is quite careful and cautious about OTT media prying. But he also has an open and somewhat cheeky personality, which he is learning how to manage in a positive fashion. He's obviously been through a hellish emotional roller coaster as an adolescent and young adult. I for one am glad to see he's making it to the other side. It's not a piece-of-cake living in a fish bowl with the whole world having an opinion about your every move, every utterance, every girlfriend, and every blown-out-of-proportion public smooch!
Meanwhile, I think it pays to take anything printed in the media with a grain of salt. Prince Harry did not give the interview yesterday, and as mentioned it was part of a long term project with a journalist following Harry around. I worked in magazine publishing, and I know that articles are planned and written usually months in advance of publication (generally about 3 months or so ahead for monthly publications, but the planning for some projects is far earlier in advance than that). In this case, its been reported that the interview took place last October. Lots of things occur during the editing process, let me tell you. Plus, it's very easy to slant a piece the way editors desire for whatever reason. Fact checking can be an exhaustive process, but it isn't always done carefully or extensively, especially by weeklies.
That said, it seems clear to me that Prince Harry was responding in an extended way to questions he was asked. And it was in part a rhetorical question, "Does anyone
want to be King or Queen?" Harry ended up answering his own question, but it was still rhetorical. And reflecting on such a question is not out of the ordinary, as we've seen similar pondering by other modern European royals. Let's face it, even past royals like Prince William of Gloucester, who was not close to ever inheriting the throne, chafed at not being able to live a normal life. In William of Gloucester's case, because of old-fashioned, antiquated attitudes that were further complicated by the long shadow of the 1930s era 'abdication crisis,' he was robbed of being able to marry the older woman he loved. Months after agonizingly parting from her, he died suddenly and tragically. His story is a revelation and it needs to be told and widely disseminated, but I think it is painful for many older members of the royal family to have this grievous wound reopened. As the older royals continue to pass on, hopefully more about this dashing, endearing and swoon-worthily handsome Prince William can be shared.
Linking the below for those who haven't seen the 2012 documentary about William of Gloucester:
"I felt that as a member of the royal family, I was somehow expected to behave in a particular way... [I'd like to be treated] perfectly naturally."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SMX5kUDOas
Prince Harry was not complaining or whining in any way, shape, or form. He has already achieved more significant accomplishments of a positive nature in his young life than many of us ever will in our own. I don't envy or begrudge him anything. I'm happy for him and his brother that they've been able to traverse the rough seas they've weathered so publicly their entire lives. I admire how they are living their lives and what they are doing with their charity, Heads Together. The more I see and hear them speak, the more I admire and respect the caring and responsible young men they have become. They are not perfect. No one in the royal family is, and none of us are either. We all have to deal with the cards we are dealt.
Some of us should probably try to get our heads out of the clouds of antiquated royal snobbishness and tsk-tsking 'tude.
Anyway, here's
Good Morning America's more positive take, but yeah it's us Americanos...
And remember that grain of salt, will ya?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC_MzqEcqL8