Prince William current events 14: December 8, 2006 - January 15, 2007

[karla64]

prince william shooting darts play video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0-fNrwlOk

[corazon]

since 1982 charles never had a chistmas card without her sons, may be this year (william and harry now are 21 years old) have their own christmas card, may be we can see it in few days

[Jo of Palatine]

I wonder what would happen if prince William found out that he has no more liking for the military than his uncle Edward had?

Wikipedia says about Edward and the military:
On leaving university, Prince Edward joined the Royal Marines to train as an officer. But the Marines proved to be too demanding for the Prince, and he resigned his commission in January 1987, before graduation. This led to strong public criticism of the Prince for being "too weak."

In that article, though, they state that Edward has the military title of 2nd lieutenant so I'm a bit confused. Does anyone know which information is correct?

Back to William: I guess his resignation would be even more critizised than that of Edward. But what if he passed Sandhurst with honours (well, not the SoH but close to it, at least that's what the media seems to say) and then married and started filling up the Royal nursery? Would that be considered an excuse? Maybe the only excuse available for him? What do you think?

[Oppie]

Prince William’s time in the Army will be divided into two parts. He will spend the first year or so continuing his training to become a fully qualified armoured reconnaissance troop leader and experiencing life as a young officer at regimental duty. This will include commanding a troop of twelve Household Cavalrymen both in barracks and in the field.
Following on from this period of regimental service, Prince William will broaden his focus to encompass familiarisation attachments to the other two Armed Services.
He will also spend time in this second period attaining his own personal military goals, which will emerge as his experience of the Army grows and his specific areas of interest develop.

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/medi...yals__206.html

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by Oppie

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/medi...yals__206.html

Thank you for the information, Oppie, but I was asking the hypothetical question what would happen if William decided he simply doesn't like military life? This career was planned for him before he joined the army. And while I'm sure that he was the one to make the decisions in the end I never was sure he really wanted it. Or why did he choose exactly the same program like his brother?

I can imagine that it's possible to go through the Sandhurst training even if one does not like military life at all. The prince has been trained to do his duty all of his life and I bet if he had any problems they would have been easier on him than on other cadets who wanted to become officers. William had to become officer - that's a different position and warrants a certain understanding and help. And he simply had to pass Sandhurst because he is the heir of the next king. But now he proved that he can do it. He is intelligent and a sporty type, he has learned discipline from being a young boy - so passing Sandhurst wasn't a problem for him. Getting used to a militarian lifestyle is something else completely. What if he does not want to life that life for three more years? What if he has other plans with his life? remember - he started out studying arts and changed his topic during his studies. What if he found out he can't stand the military? Maybe he is more Diana's son in this aspect than Charles' - her work against landmines was work against war after all and Britain is a country at war at the moment.

Pure speculation: In a way William is pretty powerless because of who he is. Maybe that strange incident with the machine gun was a way to show the MoD and other military offcials that this prince is never going to become the militaria crack they obviously thought to have at first. The whole incident smells of something - the way the media stopped talking about it, the way the SoH was awarded to a female cadet - it can be totally innocent but there is the Woolworth-incident... Who tipped them off? Maybe a fellow cadet who told the story that William is going to get married in order to shorten his time with the military? It's pure speculation but what if William really gets engaged at Christmas, then does this course as a commanding officer his brother has already passed but decides to leave the military after his wedding in the summer to start eg such a diplomat's course like the one Victoria of Sweden is doing at the moment, which would enable him to come home at night to be with his princess bride?

I guess most of the British population would understand if the prince decided to put his new family first on switching his public duties from militarian ones to diplomatic ones. He did his duty in the military after all and was rather sucessful at it, having earned his own militarian rank...

Just some weird ideas when so many things about prince William don't seem to make sense at the moment.

[Oppie]

Pure speculation: In a way William is pretty powerless because of who he is. Maybe that strange incident with the machine gun was a way to show the MoD and other military offcials that this prince is never going to become the militaria crack they obviously thought to have at first. The whole incident smells of something - the way the media stopped talking about it, the way the SoH was awarded to a female cadet - it can be totally innocent but there is the Woolworth-incident... Who tipped them off? Maybe a fellow cadet who told the story that William is going to get married in order to shorten his time with the military? It's pure speculation but what if William really gets engaged at Christmas, then does this course as a commanding officer his brother has already passed but decides to leave the military after his wedding in the summer to start eg such a diplomat's course like the one Victoria of Sweden is doing at the moment, which would enable him to come home at night to be with his princess bride?

First off I will say, I have no faith in the media anymore. The whole incident about Sophie being pregnant this summer was my final straw for me since it began to hit more respectable main stream. Over the last few days there have been three articles that mention the Norwegian royal family and they were filled with so many embrassing mistakes I don't even think the media has fact checkers anymore.

With the engagment rumours, I just think no newspaper wants to not be able to have the execlusive or be the only ones that can say 'we broke the story' and it is obvouis that the public is eating this up anyways. It's like when one of those entertainment shows adviertises that the have an exclusive with Leonardo DiCaprio, yet you see the same interview on the other fourteen entertainment shows)

The whole incident with the gun, honestly I have seroius doubts that it even happened, or happened the way the media is reporting, just because the meida has been doing such a bad job of late it is hard to believe them.

Anyways I think William was telling the truth when he said he was waiting until he was 28 to get married, a few years in the army, navey and air force (which if it turns out he doesn't like the army he can just join up with the navy faster)

I think the other thing to remember is that Tom and Laura were in very long term relationships (8 and 10 years) none of his Spencer cousins that are around his age are married, Peter and Zara are older and in long relationships and they aren't married. Even though the media might being putting on the pressure the RF I doubt would be and with very few of his peers getting married it is not like he is the odd man out.

ETA (See our posts got moved and we moved back to this)

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Oppie

The whole incident with the gun, honestly I have seroius doubts that it even happened, or happened the way the media is reporting, just because the meida has been doing such a bad job of late it is hard to believe them.

I think we can be pretty certain that he did 'mislay' the gun, what would be the point of anyone making that up.

Originally Posted by Jo of Palatine

Maybe that strange incident with the machine gun was a way to show the MoD and other military offcials that this prince is never going to become the militaria crack they obviously thought to have at first. The whole incident smells of something - the way the media stopped talking about it, the way the SoH was awarded to a female cadet - it can be totally innocent

I think you are insulting the young female, JUO, suggesting that she only got the award because of some sinister ploy. The media stopped talking about it because nobody denied it as such!

It's quite disturbing, the way some people can't accept that he was not the best recruit and that's why he did not get the award, he can't walk on water either!

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

I think we can be pretty certain that he did 'mislay' the gun, what would be the point of anyone making that up.


I think you are insulting the young female, JUO, suggesting that she only got the award because of some sinister ploy. The media stopped talking about it because nobody denied it as such!

It's quite disturbing, the way some people can't accept that he was not the best recruit and that's why he did not get the award, he can't walk on water either!

No, I'm not insulting the young officer - I know that she must be very, very good, especially as she is to join the Royal engineers which are very reknown for the high level of expertise they provide to the military. I'm sure she deserves the honour. And we will never find out what really was the basis of the decision which is okay with me as I believe that the senior officers responsible know how to form their own opinion and go through with it.

But: it's just so convenient and sometimes, when two or more candidates are in the run-up for a trophy only one can win, it's the impact of the decision which is responsible for the outcome. And it definately is a difficult thing to decide if you trained the future leader of the military - selecting a female cadet could well be not the obvious but a very diplomatic decision when she was selectable at all.

[kpusa1981]

Originally Posted by Jo of Palatine

I wonder what would happen if prince William found out that he has no more liking for the military than his uncle Edward had?

Edward was a 2nd Lt. I believe that he would have Lt if he had completed the Green Baret training. He had entered through a university scheme which ment that he had to stayed in for 5 years.
I never thought that Prince William would drop out of training.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Jo of Palatine

But: it's just so convenient and sometimes, when two or more candidates are in the run-up for a trophy only one can win, it's the impact of the decision which is responsible for the outcome. And it definately is a difficult thing to decide if you trained the future leader of the military - selecting a female cadet could well be not the obvious but a very diplomatic decision when she was selectable at all.

There were in the end, after all the exams, accomplishments and errors were taken into consideration, 7 serious contenders for the honour. We do not even know with any certainty, that William was a serious contender after the machine gun incident.
RMAS would not, IMO, have made their decision on anything other than the ability of the cadet.

[Oppie]

It's quite disturbing, the way some people can't accept that he was not the best recruit and that's why he did not get the award, he can't walk on water either!

I really can't think of anyone that can't accept that he didn't get the award. I think it would be safe to say that most people don't care.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by kpusa1981

Edward was a 2nd Lt. I believe that he would have Lt if he had completed the Green Baret training. He had entered through a university scheme which ment that he had to stayed in for 5 years.
I never thought that Prince William would drop out of training.

The Earl of Wessex spent three years in the Royal Marines as a University Cadet but, after graduating from Cambridge, decided to leave to pursue a career in theatrical production.
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5589.asp

Not as an officer, I think he left before completing the course.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Oppie

I really can't think of anyone that can't accept that he didn't get the award. I think it would be safe to say that most people don't care.

Seems to me that there are quite a few 'conspiracy' theories appearing on here, suggesting that the whole episode was made up!

[Oppie]

I went back to read the orginally stories and the first one in the thread was about William and Harry getting the Order of the Garter (I guess we missed pictures)

No to be honest (maybe I am having trouble expressing myself, I have an odd language problem) this isn't about the gun, in fact in checking it hasn't been mentioned after a week after the incident (they moved back to engagment stories) until the last couple of weeks, this about the media doing such a bad job reporting on royals that I am just happy if names get spelled right (and even that is a problem). I said that the gun story might not have happened in the context of engagment rumours. I simply don't trust the media enough to say if A and B happen then that means an engagment is happening because I don't have enough faith that they reported A and B correctly in the first place.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Oppie

No to be honest (maybe I am having trouble expressing myself, I have an odd language problem) this isn't about the gun, in fact in checking it hasn't been mentioned after a week after the incident (they moved back to engagment stories) until the last couple of weeks, this about the media doing such a bad job reporting on royals that I am just happy if names get spelled right (and even that is a problem). I said that the gun story might not have happened in the context of engagment rumours. I simply don't trust the media enough to say if A and B happen then that means an engagment is happening because I don't have enough faith that they reported A and B correctly in the first place.

Sorry Oppie, My remark wasn't exactly targeted at anyone. The press here seemed to be 'covering up' or at the very least, ignoring the story about the machine gun, with the 'hot news' that they think William is going to get engaged.

I have absolutely no faith in the media getting anything right, being fair or any of the other things we should be able to expect. They had a few years of persuading the public to think their way and now they seem to think they are all powerful! It amazes me to see how they can alter, with the use of a comma or a pause, anything!

[BeatrixFan]

I must say that William's record at Sandhurst isn't particularly good. He sounds a bit clumsy unlike his brother who seems to be doing extremely well.