Prince Harry Current Events 3: September-October 2004

[sharon_rose]

The moment Prince Harry's temper snapped

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1226102004

AN UNSEEMLY scuffle outside a nightclub, a photographer with a cut lip and a series of embarrassing photographs of another "celebrity" with his hackles up.

Inevitably, two very different versions of events have emerged as each side attempts to shed the best light on events that took place in the early hours yesterday.

But the fact the "celebrity" in question was Prince Harry, the third in line to the throne, has led to images of the Royal’s attack on a paparazzo - from several different angles - being shown on TV and splashed over the pages of newspapers.

The final indignity was a shot showing a furious-looking prince being grappled around the waist by one of his protection officers, who tries to bundle him into the car.

Prince Harry slumped down in his seat as he was driven away, his head in his hands.

That was no doubt what members of the Royal household felt like doing as they sought to draw a veil over the latest incident involving Prince Harry.

The Prince of Wales’s office at Clarence House said the 20-year-old was simply defending himself, after being hit on the nose by a camera when photographers crowded around him as he got into his car.

The Royal version of events has been questioned by at least two photographers outside Pangea’s nightclub. They say the prince lashed out without provocation.

But whatever happened, the shots will join a rogue’s photo-gallery of the prince, including one where he delivered an obscene gesture to photographers while partying with polo friends.

In contrast to his more serious brother, Prince Harry is often portrayed as a privileged playboy, a label which his admitted drinking, cannabis smoking and love of partying has done little to dispel, despite the best efforts of his father’s staff.

The latest incident, which comes just a week after he found himself at the centre of allegations - subsequently denied - that he cheated in his art A-level at Eton, is not just another setback.

Rather, the sight of Prince Harry, flushed with anger, scrapping on the street in the early hours of the morning outside a nightclub is one that will imprint on the minds of many for some time to come.

In one night, albeit a long one, he has managed to erase a long and painstaking PR campaign to rehabilitate his image.

This year, he went to Lesotho to make a documentary about AIDS orphans. He told how he wanted to dedicate himself to continuing the humanitarian work begun by his mother.

Only last month, the world saw another positive side as the prince set off on a tour promoting rugby in underprivileged and inner-city areas.

Yesterday, the Clarence House spin was that Harry, already under pressure after the cheating claims, was under siege by the media as he left the club.

This version will no doubt afford the prince some sympathy. Both princes have an uneasy relationship with the media, a legacy of their mother, Princess Diana, who died after being pursued by paparazzi through Paris in 1997.

One former royal press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, said it was an incident waiting to happen.

"Every time Harry goes out he is stalked. He is ambushed and there is a little bit of intimidation in order for the paparazzi to get the right photograph, and it was one of those things that was waiting to happen," he said.

Yesterday, Chris Uncle, the photographer involved in the incident, claimed the prince "deliberately lashed out", and said he suffered a cut lip in the course of the fracas.

He told London’s Evening Standard that he reported the incident to police shortly afterwards and was considering making a formal complaint.

Mr Uncle, 24, who works for the Big Pictures agency, said the prince "burst out the car and lunged towards me as I was still taking pictures.

"He lashed out and then deliberately pushed my camera into my face."

He said the prince was repeatedly saying: "Why are you doing this? Why don’t you just leave me alone?"

Another photographer who was outside the club supported Mr Uncle’s version of events.

The incident comes a week after sacked Eton art mistress Sarah Forsyth claimed she helped him to pass one of his A-levels.

article contin.

 

[sharon_rose]

http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2004/10/22/princeharry/

full article available at hellomagazine link

Harry, who was driven away to a secret location five hours after the altercation and reportedly examined by a doctor, has apparently apologised to his father over the fracas. "Harry is contrite about the whole thing," said a senior police protection source. "He is extremely disappointed he allowed himself to be provoked in this way."

While the snapper involved in the scuffle, Chris Uncle, has contradicted Clarence House’s version of events – which insists the Prince retaliated after being struck – it seems unlikely the 24-year-old paparazzi will press charges.

Prince Harry left the UK on a pre-arranged holiday with chums the day after the incident.

 

[Julian]

I guess giving the press an obscene gestures is not a problem. I guess cursing at photographers is not a problem..

Does he do it daily? Did he ever do it at all, and if so, so what? You keep answering in unproven generalities that exaggerate anything he (may have) done.

I guess resenting the press and blaming them for your mother's death is not having a problem with them.

I guess if he did he has grounds to feel that way. I guess lots of people have problems with the press. What of it? The press are hardly objective and have their own agendas, much of which has nothing to do with factual reporting or truth telling and a lot more to do with slurring targets they've already got on their lists, depending on their political/social/cultural likes/dislikes. In Britain, that is especially true.

Also, I guess there are no hard feelings about being exposed by the media as a drunk and pothead.

Also, I gues that's just your deliberate mischaracterisation of him. Because someone has a drink, does not make them "a drunk", because someone two years ago tried pot, does not make them a "pothead" in the present.

And yes, his mother played dangerous games with the press, looking for any opportunity to upstage her husband.

Really? She spent 24/7 of 15 years doing this? Again, your mischaracterization which has nothing to do with his actions in the present. She didn't need to upstage her husband, she was immediately far more interesting than he ever was and obviously she continues to cast a deservedly long shadow over the rest of his life.

The accounts of his mother are not false. They are well-documented.

Whose accounts precisely? They are not "well-documented" just because they've become well publicised. Nor does repeating a lie endlessly, make it true.

She baited them, tried to make them work on her terms but it all blew up in her face. She tried to manipulate them but they figured out her game. It's only in recent ears that the truth has come out: Diana was not a victim of the press.

What "blew up in her face" exactly? This makes no sense. If she was such a clever manipulator then why would anything blow up in her face? You try to make out she and her son whom you transfer your loathing to, are such "wily", "manipulator" persons, etc., yet they clearly are victims of the press.

She made her own bed and lay down in it. And P. Harry treats the press the way he does because believes that they are responsible for his mother's death.

Harry doesn't "treat" the press in any particular way as far as I can see. Nor is he unique in viewing the press as an oppressive and intrusive, distorting presence in his life. He certainly isn't unique as viewing the press as one of the destructive forces in his mother's life either, and quite rightly so.

I guess taking illegal drugs, drunken and disorderly behavior, and publicly making out with just about every girl who gets his attention are not disgraceful. I guess wasting time at a top public school and having the legitimacy of your exam results questioned are not disgraceful. I guess being a club-hopping, binge-drinking, sex-crazy, pot-smoking flunky is not disgraceful behavior. Show me which family, rich or poor, would hold there heads proudly if they knew one of their family members behaved like that. The press said it right last year when they called him a national disgrace. I reiterate, P. Harry has disgraced himself. No one has forced him to behave the way he does. He has done it to himself.

I thought you just said his mother forced him to do it from beyond the grave? This is making even less sense, and is based on nothing but opinion. "The press" called him a "national disgrace"? No, one media outlet (which also hated his mother, like you) said that about him.

And yes, having a degree is no guarantee for success, but it opens doors. P. Andrew's mother is the Queen, yet he was consistently passed over for promotion in the Navy because he lacked the educational qualifications for senior rank. His military career was seriously hampered because he did not complete his education.

What does Prince Andrew have to do with Harry's future? Do you have a crystal ball that tells you that what happened to Andrew, will certainly happen to Harry? Prince Harry doesn't "need doors opened" for him like some middle-class opportuntistic social/status/career-climbin' wannabe. Harry has made the choice of military college because that reflects his interest. If he finds other interests he's genuinely motivated to pursue formal education in, there's no reason he can't take part-time or occasional studies during the rest of his twenties. Big deal. If more people refused to go to university and go after second-rate degrees, just because the other middle-class bonehead is doing it, and thereby making them the useless pieces of paper they've become in the past 30 years, the world would probably be a better place as well.

I don't expect P. Harry to be all smiles all the time, but disorderly behavior is totally uncalled for. He could have had the some of his minders clear the path for him before he got to the car. He could have done what most high-profile figures do when leaving clubs: they go out the back door so that there will be no photo-op. P. Harry can choose to be discrete, if he wants. If he wants the press to "leave him alone" then he needs to conduct himself more appropriately and discretely.

There's absolutely no reason for him to skulk out back doors. He was visiting where he was privately, and "high-profile" is a rather dishonest word because it refers mostly to celebrities who are celebrities round the clock. They got where they are because they chose a career that required media attention and they went after it. They are the ones who made their bed and have to sleep in it.

Harry is a star for the wrong reasons. He makes more headlines for the wrong reasons. That's nothing to be envious of. It's both pitiful and pathetic. A better person would never allow himself to be seen that way. I'm sure Charles' PR man is must be at his wit's end after this incident.

The only reason Charles' p.r. man is at his wits' end has nothing to do with Harry's well-being or the facts of the matter but ensuring that people don't put this in the context which is already clear from the past 7 years. Which is that Charles is the parent who's been incompetent and worthless in raising a teenager. Harry's "episodes" are clearly all cries of anger against the longstanding negligence of his father and his father's family. Their dysfunctions are being played out against the added pressures of Charles' own disreputable episodes of sexual scandals, hostility to the press, and underlying tensions with his own parents. Those are the relevant influences in the present all of them bad in Harry's life. As to female examples, drinking and smoking are commoner now that his father's mistress does plenty of both and not much else.

 

[Elspeth]

To reinforce what the administrators have been saying, please keep this conversation civil. It's possible to discuss controversial topics without accusing other people of dishonesty.

 

[bluetortuga]

Julian,

To debate with you is a waste of time. You clearly lack maturity and have trouble understanding anything anyone says. A thread about P. Harry has now become your shooting gallery for anyone who dares to criticize his actions. The facts are the facts; and the truth hurts. No where did I say in any post that Diana forced P. Harry from her grave to behave the way he does. It's obvious that you are a P. Harry fanatic; you are in way too deep, if not obsessed with "defending his honor". Isn't it funny, P. Harry doesn't even know you exist; and if he did, he would think you were no more important than a tick on camel's backside. I stand by my postings, each and every word. I will abide by the administrators ruling and not pursue arguing with you any further.

 

[Britters]

Bluetorgtuga- While I agree with many of your statements I think this last posting was out of line and uncalled for. Julian was simply stating their side of things, and for you to call them immature and claim they don't understand anything said to them is simply unfair.

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

All I can say to Harry is, "you were born to privilege and with that comes specific obligations" so learn to deal with them (don't include trashing reporters faces).

Wow! I was watching Ever After last night! (For those of you who have never seen the movie, this quote is said over and over.)

Oh, and can we only say nice things, 'cause the world would be a better place if everyone was nice to eachother.

 

[Julia]

Please, I would like to ask (as Alexandria and Elspeth before me have) you all to be civil towards one another when discussing this issue. If you all cannot then this topic will be closed. There is no reason why you all cannot discuss this issue without making personal attacks on one another.

Thank you,
Julia
Administrator

 

[pdas1201]

Wow! I was watching Ever After last night! (For those of you who have never seen the movie, this quote is said over and over.)

Oh, and can we only say nice things, 'cause the world would be a better place if everyone was nice to eachother.

Okay, you got me there 'gaggleforcrazypeople', I thought nobody would notice. I just like the line very much...

 

[Julian]

Julian,

To debate with you is a waste of time. You clearly lack maturity and have trouble understanding anything anyone says. A thread about P. Harry has now become your shooting gallery for anyone who dares to criticize his actions. The facts are the facts; and the truth hurts. No where did I say in any post that Diana forced P. Harry from her grave to behave the way he does. It's obvious that you are a P. Harry fanatic; you are in way too deep, if not obsessed with "defending his honor". Isn't it funny, P. Harry doesn't even know you exist; and if he did, he would think you were no more important than a tick on camel's backside. I stand by my postings, each and every word. I will abide by the administrators ruling and not pursue arguing with you any further.

Oh, I understand exactly everything you have said. And there is nothing either "mature" or "reasonable" in any of it. The reason you don't want to debate is because there is no merit in what you have to say about Harry. You are not "anyone", i.e., everyone, BlueTortuga, and you are only you. One person. I have not addressed anyone else's negative and hostile comments about Harry on this thread. Only yours, since ninety-nine percent have come from you. You and you alone dragged Diana repeatedly into this thread where this incident has been mentioned, and you and you alone now deny your own words. How interesting. There is a word for that, I don't even need to tell anyone what it is either.

ADMINISTRATOR:

(1) "a P. Harry fanatic.."

(2) ''.obssessed.."

(3) "...a tick on camel's backside.."

(4) "...your shooting gallery...."


***PLEASE DEAL ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN RULES WITH THE ABOVE PERSONAL NAME-CALLING AND INSULTS IN THIS THREAD BY BLUETORTUGA****

 

[Julia]

Julian, my request was directed to all members in this thread...including Bluetortuga...

 

[Julia]

I think this thread has gotten out of hand. It will be closed and another thread on the subject will be opened. Please feel free to participate in that thread if you can refrain from attacking one another.

Julia

 

[Julia]

New thread for Prince Harry discussions: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=136744#post136744