TonyaR said:
If I'm not mistaken William is Second in line to the throne behind the Prince of Wales, he's not Next in line...
I hate to be difficult, but seeing as it is in fact our monarchy, a British monarchy, which represents us and which we fund, shouldn't we be able to expect whatever we feel is appropriate? If other nations with monarchies have different expectations, that is of course their right, and it's true that the British seem to have higher expectations, but then that's why the Windsors are the British royals. Ultimately, it makes no difference if the Belgians, the Norwegians, the Swedes, the Danes, the Dutch, the Spanish and certainly not the Americans are happy with them, because we are the people they represent. I'm glad that you love the Windsors, but their purpose is not to please you, but the Brits.
And as to abolishing the monarchy because of certain individuals, well, that is quite a long-standing tradition as well. Many believe that the reason Edward abdicated is that his advisors told him that if he married Wallis, the monarchy might not survive. Furthermore, I think that the issue of the woman he ultimately chooses to wed, and how he behaves about it are far more important ones than scratching in public. Many find the idea of a future head of the Church of England living with his girlfriend before marriage to be incompatible, but I highly doubt that spitting is morally repugnant.
Finally, you bring up the point that William is second in line to the throne - a completely accurate observation, but I have to disagree with your analysis. It's not as though his behaviour before he is actually crowned doesn't count. He is waiting to be king - I don't see how he could expect to live a normal life - by definition, being second in line to the throne makes you abnormal. He cannot live however he likes up to the very moment he enters the Abbey...he may be the heir to the heir, but that has it's own duties and doesn't, I'm afraid, allow for much normalcy.