William and Harry's TV Interviews about Diana: June 2007

[CasiraghiTrio]

Whoa.... who says the charity concert is a bad idea? I know I do not say that. I do think the excerpts we have from the interview show that the princes have much to learn about public speaking, but I do not believe it's bad to honor their mother with a tasteful concert. It's a good thing. It will raise money for charities, very good important charities, and there could scarcely be a better way to pay tribute to her. I am excited about the concert, excited for them, excited for how much money it will raise for the charities.
Moreover, this really should be Diana's summer. It is ten years since she died and time to do something that is truly honorable in her memory, something that shows the goodness of her heart and does not scandalize the recycled laundry of the bad points of her life. That is what I believe this concert is about. It seems to be a positive thing all around.

 

[BeatrixFan]

How do you know HRH Princess Alice never did it? Just because she doesn't warrant attention in the media does not mean it never happenned.

I know she did it because we saw her do it. She worked and earned respect. She threw herself into charity work. What have William and Harry done? Organised a concert. Wow.

Whoa.... who says the charity concert is a bad idea?

I do. I find it totally unacceptable and I hope people will realise that just as with Live 8, the majority of people are going for the music and not the cause.

 

[kjrn]

I'm sure very few people go to charity events for the cause. Most go for the other offerings. Why do you think these charities use celebrities to promote their causes, come to their dinners, attend their parties? The celebrity is the draw. In the end does it really matter what brings the people in as long as they come and donate and the charitable cause gets the money? In a perfect world we wouldn't even need charitable causes because people would go out of their way to help everyone. This however is not a perfect world.

Trust me with the acts lined up, some people are coming because it is for Diana, not the acts. I personally have no interest in about 99 percent of the people listed, wouldn't buy or listen to their music. I'll probably watch the concert though because of the circumstances.

The more clips I see of the Matt interview, the better I think it will be. Here are some of the clips released from NBC. I think there are four.

MSNBC - The Today Show - Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Al Roker, Natalie Morales - News, Celebrities, Recipes, Video, Tips and Advice, Entertainment and Live Concerts -- MSNBC.com Front Page

 

[Duchess]

just touching back on the topic of the amount of "you know's" and "um's" in the interview...i think the best thing these young men could do would be to invest in a public speaking coach. they're obviously comfortable speaking but they need to learn to speak slower, and to avoid all those annoying little "filler" words that tend to make people look like they have no grasp of the language they speak.

 

[TheTruth]

William & Harry talk about their mother
The Royalist - William & Harry: Remember Our Mother's Amazing Workhttp://www.theroyalist.net/index.php

 

[sirhon11234]

It is not Charles, Camillas or Diana's fault - these boys had nannies, governesses and teachers they spent more time with and who basically brought them up and have shaped the way they speak.

What do you mean its not Camilla's fault. She didn't raise William and Harry.
Charles and Diana did.

 

[BeatrixFan]

I think you'll find nannies raised them.

 

[Skydragon]

What do you mean its not Camilla's fault. She didn't raise William and Harry.
Charles and Diana did.

No Charles and Diana were a big part of their lives until her death, but they certainly didn't raise them. That was a whole battalion of nannies, servants, tutors etc. After her death, in fact for the last 10 years, Diana has had no input at all and even before that, seeing them during scool holidays when she or Charles were not out and about can hardly be called 'raising' them. It is a little like the people who say they built their own house, when what they should say is they employed a company to build a house for them, a world of difference!

Camilla has been a big part of their lives and I presumed it would only be a matter of time before someone blamed Camilla!

 

[TheTruth]

Yes, but Diana took them at school, did some fun stuff with them (same thing with Charles). If they weren't raised by their parents I can't explain why they felt so sad when she died. I mean it would have been sadder if the nannies had died, no?

 

[Skydragon]

Yes, but Diana took them at school, did some fun stuff with them (same thing with Charles). If they weren't raised by their parents I can't explain why they felt so sad when she died. I mean it would have been sadder if the nannies had died, no?

It doesn't work like that, your parents are your parents, you know your nannies are paid help.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Well, let's do the mathematics shall we? Camilla apparantly entered their lives from birth. William was 15 when his mother died, Harry was 13. We know that they had nannies and tutors and that both parents had a busy public schedule. It is therefore likely that they were raised entirely by nannies and saw their parents occassionally. We know that their relationship with their mother was close but we also know that Diana engaged in phone sex whilst she was "babysitting" her sons (Squidgygate) and that parenting wasn't exactly her forte in the traditional sense. We also know that after Diana's death, the boys have been extremely close to their father and he has seen them through their formative years, but again, parenting isn't the traditional kind. Camilla has been around since 1997 and we know (thanks to the Princes) that they "love her to bits" and that she has taken an active interest in their lives. She is their stepmother but she isn't a parent, just as Charles and Diana were not parents. It seems they are more friends with a deep love. Bioligcally, William and Harry are the sons of Charles but parenthood wise, they don't fit the traditional requirements of what constitutes a father/son relationship. As Skydragon says, when the boys were younger it was a matter of a presence rather than parenting, the same as their relationship with Charles and Camilla has changed as they have got older and now is a matter of presence and not parenting.

 

[TheTruth]

It doesn't work like that, your parents are your parents, you know your nannies are paid help.

Okay although I still think the parents Charles - Diana didn't give a 'Buckingham-protocole-well-respected' education to their kids. At least not Diana.

 

[TheTruth]

Hey this site is not a boxe ring with Diana vs Camilla. It seems that we are going here once more. I think we all agree that William & Harry didn't had a 'normal' childhood and education which is due to their position. On the other side we have to notice that they are not reacting like The Queen so there must be a difference between the two types of education. Perhaps the different period of their birth or maybe a higher involvement of their parents.

 

[ysbel]

I didn't think that was what Janet intended, either. From my original post on the subject, I wasn't attempting to assign blame to either Charles or Diana-or anyone else, for that matter-I was merely commenting that William's quoted remark appeared inarticulate.

The post you quoted was a response to Beatrix Fan's usual attempt to play the "blame game", which also makes members uncomfortable. I don't know why you chose to single out my comment, but, in any case, I'll stop commenting.

You seemed genuinely confused about what was going on and I was genuinely trying to explain something but I guess I didn't do a very good job or maybe you weren't even confused. That should teach me to send off a reply when I'm late to work. Please don't stop commenting because I wasn't trying to single you out.

Its just that for those of us who have been here for awhile the exchange is all too familiar and I think that if newer members start talking about this site not being a boxing ring between Camilla and Diana, then yes, the old battle lines are being drawn again and it often starts with members ascribing qualities of William or Harry to Charles' or Diana's influence.

That's all I meant.

 

[ysbel]

Hey this site is not a boxe ring with Diana vs Camilla.

Quite right! Can we put down the boxing gloves, please?

Thanks.
ysbel
British forums moderator

 

[Duchess]

I'm afraid here in the UK Duchess, it is the sort of language you see the chavs using, the Catherine Tate take offs or those from very bad inner city schools. It really isn't what you expect from Prince Charles' son's, with an Eton and RMAS education.

i know what you mean...over here the word is "like"...people insert it after every other word...it's really annoying. however perhaps with more experience, their public speaking skills will improve. i will say that i don't fin any of the royals, including HM, particularly good speakers. some people just never get the knack for it and others are very good at it.

 

[ysbel]

i know what you mean...over here the word is "like"...people insert it after every other word...it's really annoying. however perhaps with more experience, their public speaking skills will improve. i will say that i don't fin any of the royals, including HM, particularly good speakers. some people just never get the knack for it and others are very good at it.

I wonder if its because what makes a public speaker well respected today is his or her motivational quality.

The royals are not that type of public person.

 

[scooter]

I am always amazed that people who have no children have such strong willed opinions about other people's parenting skills.If one is 18,19, 20 years old, I'm curious as to what experience or knowledge they are basing their complete convictions on?

 

[BeatrixFan]

I haven't got a crack habit but I know it makes you lose weight and kiss tramps.

 

[ysbel]

Let's leave the parenting skills alone!

ysbel
British forums moderator

 

[Boo Boo]

How can u say that William sounds boring, oh really, how do u expect the poor thing to behave. He is not only befending his mother, but also rejoicing his life with her. God forbid if the BORING camilla becomes queen, lets interview her revolting kiddies!!!!!

 

[BeccaLynn07]

I can't wait to see the interview, I just hope it turns out to be as interesting as I'm hoping it will be.

 

[Jane1]

They've never spoken about her in an interview and they have never really done long interviews before so it is no surprise that they don't always answer articulately. They have chosen to celebrate her life, 10 years after her death after maintaining a dignifed silence while she has been so exploited all these years... I think they're doing like, you know, OK.

 

[Duchess]

I haven't got a crack habit but I know it makes you lose weight and kiss tramps.

hahahaha

 

[Duchess]

They've never spoken about her in an interview and they have never really done long interviews before so it is no surprise that they don't always answer articulately. They have chosen to celebrate her life, 10 years after her death after maintaining a dignifed silence while she has been so exploited all these years... I think they're doing like, you know, OK.

i agree. on this board, we so quick to say let her rest in peace whenever a new book comes out but when her children want to celebrate her life after a "dignified silence" as you very accurately stated, we're still not happy.

 

[Duchess]

in defense of some of the absent parents out there i have to wade into this discussion. while i know that nannies were probably there most of the time i don't think that charles and diana played any less important a role in parenting the boys. my husband is away for 2 weeks at a time and i firmly believe that it's not necessarily how much time you spend with your children but the QUALITY of the time you spend with them. it would be nice if we could all spend more time with our kids but if you've done your best and instilled the right things in them from the moment you brought them home from the hospital then id say you're a good parent. having said that, i know that the nannies were a big influence in their lives. while diana and charles both engaged in some phone sex, i don't think that makes them bad parents and i don't think that either of them would rather spend time on the phone doing that than spend time with their kids. lets be honest, for those of us that have children, we've all felt, from time to time "someone please take this child/children and give me some peace and quiet".

 

[Roslyn]

They've never spoken about her in an interview and they have never really done long interviews before so it is no surprise that they don't always answer articulately. They have chosen to celebrate her life, 10 years after her death after maintaining a dignifed silence while she has been so exploited all these years... I think they're doing like, you know, OK.

These are not two shy country boys who have lived in the outback all their lives mustering cattle and being home-schooled. They are two very privileged young men who have grown up surrounded by wealth and constantly exposed to well educated and articulate people. They have been to elite schools. One has gone to university and both have attended Sandhurst. Both of them, and William in particular, would have been required to regularly make reports and short speeches in front of their schoolmates and teachers. They are not children, but young men in their twenties. There is no excuse for them not speaking confidently and articulately when interviewed.......unless they are dunderheads.

 

[gfg02]

Prince Harry: Mum Was A Good Actress

The Royalist - Prince Harry: Mum Was A Good Actress

 

[Duchess]

privilege and education -and in some cases even life experience do not make someone a good public speaker. here's an example - i remember listening to a gentleman talk about how he was injured in a motor vehicle accident - burns to over 90% of his body and confined to a wheel chair - while his story of regaining a life was certainly inspiring his public speaking was terrible and he'd been on the circuit for a number years. i'm giving the princes the benefit of the doubt that with time and experience you won't hear the um's and you know's that we heard in this interview. that's not to say that they'll be great speakers, they will just be more comfortable and better able to find the words that would more appropriately convey what they want to say.

 

[Skydragon]

I was lucky enought to have nannies and other staff to help bring up my children and their father was sometimes away for long periods of time, but we are both their parents.

They always knew we were their parents, but a cut knee would send them scuttling to their nanny, not me. I wasn't there for the nappy changing, the weaning etc. At 7 teachers, matron and school took over, followed by uni and then RMAS, Cranwell & St Athan.

All parents like us do, is reinforce what they are learning at any one time. That is probably one reason why W & H have good memories of their mother.

Prince Harry: Mum Was A Good Actress

She was indeed!