Prince William Current Events 10: September-October 2006

[Skydragon]

Nevertheless, there are illegal orders. Common sense has to prevail as in the theatre of war obeying an illegal order can result in nasty little 'War Crimes' tribunals!
A leader of men is born not created. He is tempered by his military training but will exemplify those traits that will make his men follow him into hell (much to the chagrin of many of his superiors). It is earned and cannot be ordered or demanded.....
...... Whilst Prince William is born to be King, he will have to earn the 'Sword of Honour'. The men of the military, at their best, serve "For God, For Queen and For Country", not young princelings. Anything less would dishonour the very traditions that make the Army what it is and must be. It is a lifestyle choice, not a hobby.

Very well put, I agree 100%. In my defence I would say that I was only answering ysbels' question and had presumed it was a justified and legal order from a reasonably sane C.O.

 

[MARG]

Very well put, I agree 100%. In my defence I would say that I was only answering ysbels' question and had presumed it was a justified and legal order from a reasonably sane C.O.

Understand completely. We colonials tend to charge off on a tangent from time to time. (In need of the written equivilent of a smack on the nose with a rolled up newspaper).:w00t2:

 

[Skydragon]

Understand completely. We colonials tend to charge off on a tangent from time to time. (In need of the written equivilent of a smack on the nose with a rolled up newspaper).:w00t2:

I wasn't telling you off! . Your reply is hilarious though. On a serious note

Wills goes Walkabout

Prince William enjoyed a night out in Reading at the weekend – but missed some of the sexiest sights the town has to offer.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2004/2004182/wills_goes_walkabout

 

[Skydragon]

Pictures taken of William on an army training exercise 25th September 2006 - Wireimage.

 

[HRH Kimetha]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skydragon
Officers have been known to disobey orders and if they can't be 'encouraged' to back down, they are moved sideways or suffer a CM. They too have to follow the chain of command, it is very difficult for the officer as the forces, for officers, is like a gentlemans club, friends are soon very hard to find.

When William finishes and becomes a Coronet or whatever he becomes, will he necessarily outrank his fellow soldiers because of his position and then thus can disobey an order by his ranking CO? Anyone know this answer?

Nevertheless, there are illegal orders. Common sense has to prevail as in the theatre of war obeying an illegal order can result in nasty little 'War Crimes' tribunals!
Just obeying orders is no excuse. The Geneva Convention set the rules. Nuremberg, and the Court of the Hague continue to hold individual Officers responsible.

A leader of men is born not created. He is tempered by his military training but will exemplify those traits that will make his men follow him into hell (much to the chagrin of many of his superiors). It is earned and cannot be ordered or demanded.

It is unfortunate that most 'heroic' leaders are less than appreciated in a peace-time military. (TE Lawrence in North Africa, David Stirling's creation of the SAS also in WWII and a couple of very colorful caracters in these present theatres of war). More often than not they are radical thinkers, intensely patriotic and larger than life.

Whilst Prince William is born to be King, he will have to earn the 'Sword of Honour'. The men of the military, at their best, serve "For God, For Queen and For Country", not young princelings. Anything less would dishonour the very traditions that make the Army what it is and must be. It is a lifestyle choice, not a hobby.

Very well spoken, Marge. I totally agree with you. There are many who would want him to be handed the sword and respect without earning it and that creates resentment especially amongst soldiers that really deserve it. However, I will still be looking for favoritism if he should be awarded it because there were also soldiers within his troop that may have worked extra hard with longer hours, while William whiled away with our favorite redhead in some bar. In addition, those other soldiers may have behaved in such a way to bring respect and honour to the uniform while in their off hours or breaks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skydragon
Wills goes Walkabout

Prince William enjoyed a night out in Reading at the weekend – but missed some of the sexiest sights the town has to offer.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/200...goes_walkabout

It may not be any importance, but newspapers using stock photos with stories do not get my respect. It's obvious that this picture of Wills was taken on the day he reported to Sandhurst for training. Just thought I'd point that out, well..... because I had nothing else to say about it.

 

[Skydragon]

When William finishes and becomes a Coronet or whatever he becomes, will he necessarily outrank his fellow soldiers because of his position and then thus can disobey an order by his ranking CO? Anyone know this answer?

No he won't outrank other officers of the same rank at any time just because of who he is, although if he was staying for 3 years or more, he would be given more responsibility than someone who has only just passed out, if he is seen as a good officer. He also can't disobey an order from any senior rank because of who he is and who he may one day be, Charles and Andrew had to obey orders.

I think a lot people will think, if he gets the SoH, that it is only because of who he is. I stand by the post I put a few days ago - "To award it to William based on who he is, could deprive someone who has worked really hard, who has given his all and cause lasting resentment among the very officers that William may someday rely on if he becomes Head of all the British armed forces".

 

[ysbel]

Very well put, I agree 100%. In my defence I would say that I was only answering ysbels' question and had presumed it was a justified and legal order from a reasonably sane C.O.

Oh dear me, you mean I was guilty of taking the thread off tangent?

Thanks for the answer skydragon.

We have a lot of situations where I work where a group of equally qualified persons are in competition for something, either a job, a promotion, or an award. The means of choosing the one out of the many is not scientific at best. I think what would be interesting would be if William were in a group of equally suited candidates. What would happen then? If he did get the sword, it could smack of favoritism but if he didn't, I wonder if it would smack of reverse prejudice.

Probably not an enviable situation for the selecting committee.

 

[HRH Kimetha]

....I think what would be interesting would be if William were in a group of equally suited candidates. What would happen then? If he did get the sword, it could smack of favoritism but if he didn't, I wonder if it would smack of reverse prejudice.

Probably not an enviable situation for the selecting committee.

The situation you speak of also happens in hiring situations as well. I also wouldn't want to be on the selecting committee as there may be others on the committee who may want to lean one way or the other because of their own agenda thus creating pressure on my vote to vote a certain way.

 

[alleyesonarmani]

Wills goes to bingo

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006460147,,00.html

 

[karla64]

it's prince william goes Bingo Night.. Did he win?????

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/uk_news/5404966.stm

 

[sara1981]

Wills join fellow cadets for a night at the bingo
http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2006/10/04/prince-william/

 

[Royal Fan]

Interesting I Wouldnt have took him for a bingo fan

 

[Skydragon]

Interesting I Wouldnt have took him for a bingo fan

They probably went there for a 'laugh'.

 

[TonyaR]

I have a comment about Prince William receiving the Sword of Honour:

I genuinely believe that he isn't the sort of person that would want to receive an honour he didn't earn.
Prince Harry was up for consideration for the S of H, but as we know he didn't receive it. I think he didn't receive it because it was decided that he didn't meet all the criteria necessary. It could be that Prince William will be found lacking for the same reason.

The thing is, we haven't actually seen or heard of any unbecoming behaviour.
Prince William has been seen out and about very late at night, but he wasn't seen in a drunken or disorderly state.
There are no valid accounts of him behaving in a manner that would be considered truly unseemly or unbecoming to an officer. Although he did dress up in an outrageous costume, he was attending a fancy dress party with other soldiers and it was considered acceptable under the circumstance. Weird, but acceptable .

Looking back at all of the tabloid stories about Prince William since he entered Sandhurst in January, he hasn't actually done anything that would be considered wrong other than breaking curfew. (I could be mistaken about that, Skydragon please correct me if I am )

The numerous Polo matches he participated in for charity could be called questionable, but I find it hard to believe he would have been able to participate in those matches without proper approval given from his superiors.

As far as the other criteria are concerned, we don't know if William meets the requirements or not. It could be that he is considered to be a good leader by his men. He was the leader of various sport teams at Eton and St. Andrews, so maybe actually does he possess the ability to lead and inspire his fellows. By all accounts he certainly is down to earth with his fellow cadets, there have been different accounts of his fellow cadets saying that he was 'one of the boys' and that they liked him.
Again, he really may be found lacking, and not be given the award because of that.
However, if it turns out that he is given the award, I would like to think it would only be because those who make the decision had decided he earned it.
I would want to give those men the benefit of the doubt, and assume that they considered him honestly and without prejudice or favouritism.

Anything less would be demeaning to the men who had received the honour previously, and demeaning to Prince William as well.

 

[karla64]

Wills night out at pizzaexpress

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006460323,00.html

 

[Roslyn]

Wills night out at pizzaexpress

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006460323,00.html

I'm glad people let him alone and let them enjoy the evening.

Is this unusual? Did Charles or Anne or Andrew or Edward go out to ordinary restaurants for a meal with friends like this? What Edward did is probably not as relevant though because he's a more junior member of the Family whereas William is expected to be King one day.

I was thinking that maybe William wants to get the public used to seeing him doing ordinary things like this, in the hope he can live a slightly more informal lifestyle than earlier generations of Royals. Pure speculation on my part though.

 

[Elspeth]

Actually, I was just thinking the other day that that photo of William and Kate sharing loving looks at the nightclub a few weeks ago is something you'd never have seen with Charles.

 

[sara1981]

Capt booted from Will's college
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006460246,00.html

 

[Skydragon]

I'm glad people let him alone and let them enjoy the evening.

Is this unusual? Did Charles or Anne or Andrew or Edward go out to ordinary restaurants for a meal with friends like this? What Edward did is probably not as relevant though because he's a more junior member of the Family whereas William is expected to be King one day.
.

The older ones all went out to restaurants, shopping and 'normal' things, IMO. I believe they had more opportunity to do things on the spur of the moment. The world was different then, the media did not chase them around, people did not have tiny cameras or phone cameras, they were treated with a lot more reverence than most people show nowadays. The chances of getting mugged, shot or stabbed were more remote.

I think they were all very careful about being photographed in a clinch with a casual opposite sex friend.

Poor William and Harry, doomed to live out their lives under the media spotlight!

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

This article is far less serious than the recent posts on this thread but somewhat amusing, even if the image is quite disturbing.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/1,,2006420245,00.html

They pasted William's face over that summer 2001 photo of Charlotte Casiraghi (the bikini, the pose, the body, the way the head was turned matches exactly). haha, Charlotte's body and William's face! Though they pretty much used his arms actually.

 

[fanletizia]

William to turn his back on Army for life as a park ranger

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=409308&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490

 

[lord_rankin]

I found that article at most uininspiring. They make it seem as though this is what he has already chosen to do until the end of the article and they tell you Clarence House stated that any discussion of the Prince's future is purely speculation. Bad form for the Daily Mail.

 

[Duchess]

They pasted William's face over that summer 2001 photo of Charlotte Casiraghi (the bikini, the pose, the body, the way the head was turned matches exactly). haha, Charlotte's body and William's face! Though they pretty much used his arms actually.

this paper thot the public would believe this?

 

[Avalon]

WILLS TO TAKE OVER FROM PRINCE PHILIP AS WINDSOR RANGER

When Prince William graduates from Sandhurst in two months time he begins a three-year commission in the military which will take him away from his home and loved-ones. The second-in-line can look forward to spending plenty of time in familiar surroundings once his time in the forces comes to an end, however, as he is planning to take over the running of his grandparents' favourite estate.

 

[Next Star]

prince william and his military buddies went out to play bingo and other players were shocked to see the 24 year old prince there playing along with them. How would feel if you were at bingo night and prince william were to walk in and play bingo with you and the rest of the players?

I will answer my own question if Prince Wiliam and his military friends were to show up on bingo night. I would be exicited not every day a royal goes not to play with regular people he has a tough job ahead of him beening that he will be future king so if now he can fun and worry about beening serious later.

 

[TonyaR]

I find it nice that Prince William wasn't too high in the instep to play Bingo. It speaks well for his ability to understand regular people, his being comfortable doing an unexciting thing like playing bingo in a non-descript environment of (probably) elderly people.

 

[Next Star]

I find it nice that Prince William wasn't too high in the instep to play Bingo. It speaks well for his ability to understand regular people, his being comfortable doing an unexciting thing like playing bingo in a non-descript environment of (probably) elderly people.

Yyou can be young or old and play bingo who says young people don't play bingo not only is it fun but it is also awarding to when play bingo sometimes you win money.

 

[karla64]

Prince focused at military demo...

Guess What he is wearing spectacles as he focus on an Army firepower..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6067404.stm

 

[Skydragon]

He seems to have more and more teeth!

 

[Tzu An]

HRH Kimetha,
I do understand what you are saying because it makes perfect sense...

I really do agree. Plus they have to work at the job they were born to (not their choice) for the rest of their lives or face disgrace and scorn. Just look at the Queen, in her late eighties and still working hard at engagements when most her age have been retired for years!