Royal Medical Conditions

[Tarlita]

That's interesting Curryong, I never knew that.

 

[JoanHarry]

Very interesting, for two reasons. First, since it runs in families and is more prevalent in males, I am now curious about Princes Philip, Charles, William, George, and Louis.

Second, Prince William is a helicopter pilot, which means he needs to be able to identify different colors in some way. I wonder how relevant that old rule is these days and if it interferes with his duties a little (i.e. color is less relevant these days in flight) or a lot (e.g. he needs the equipment to be altered slightly).

 

[Prinsara]

William...gosh. That's not exactly an ironclad source, though, since it doesn't say what he said or when he said it. And Paul Newman (similarly gorgeous, similarly blue eyes, cough) is on the same page saying he wasn't allowed to be a pilot due to that. Although... it actually would explain all Will's blue!

Since most colorblindness is X-linked, it seems it came through the Spencers and isn't something Will can pass on, unless it's in the Middletons, too.

Although this, again, points out people who are colorblind are not allowed to pilot: https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/royal_family/Prince+William-52147.html

 

[windemere]

Yes, as previously mentioned, colorblindness is X-linked (carried on the X chromosome). Female's chromosomal makeup is XX. They are less prone to colorblindness because even if they inherit one colorblind X from a parent, the normal X from the other parent will balance it out. The only way a female is colorblind is if she inherits a colorblind X from both parents.

The male chromosomal makeup is XY. He inherits his X from his mother, and his Y from his father. The gene for colorblindness is carried only on the X chromosome. Colorblindness is more prevalent in males because they have only one X chromosome. If it happens to be the colorblind one, they will automatically be colorblind.

William's sons will not inherit his own colorblindness, since he passed on to them his Y chromosome. His daughter inherited his colorblind X. But if she inherited a normal X from her mother, she also won't be colorblind. And it's correct that his colorblindness came through Diana, as she passed on one of her Xs to him. She likely wasn't colorblind herself, as if her other X was normal, it balanced it out.

There are different types of colorblindness. Some are mild. I myself never realized that I was colorblind until I joined the Army, and failed the colorblind test (distinguishing numbers on dotted cards). In ordinary life, I can distinguish colors well enough.

 

[Denville]

William...gosh. That's not exactly an ironclad source, though, since it doesn't say what he said or when he said it. And Paul Newman (similarly gorgeous, similarly blue eyes, cough) is on the same page saying he wasn't allowed to be a pilot due to that. Although... it actually would explain all Will's blue!

Since most colorblindness is X-linked, it seems it came through the Spencers and isn't something Will can pass on, unless it's in the Middletons, too.

Although this, again, points out people who are colorblind are not allowed to pilot: https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/royal_family/Prince+William-52147.html

I find it hard to beleive that he coudl be a Pilot if he were colour blind.. so he likely isn't?

 

[Prinsara]

We know Will has somewhat poor uncorrected eyesight and needs glasses and contacts to get to 20/20. That he could be colorblind on top of that, and the RAF would have casually let the second in line to the throne pilot aircraft when it's a dangerous automatic disqualification for everyone else... seems to be stretching things a bit. (It would also make it incredibly difficult for him to actually admit colorblindness, given how that would make his entire career [and the RAF] look.)

Furthermore, there's no record of William ever doing things like patronizing or even paying special attention to organizations that work with colorblindness, or trying out the neat new glasses that can correct the issue in some cases, or even making a concrete declaration somewhere — just a handful of unsourced gossip sites.

So while it would be very interesting (and, well, frightening, given his former career), we're going to need a bit more evidence to say he really is, rather than just spread a rumor.

Will counts as maybe a quarter (potential) case. Any whole, confirmed ones?

 

[Sionevar]

The article alleges William is red-green colourblind, which the RAF classifies as CP4. Entry to the RAF is not completely barred if you have this rating, but career choices are quite limited, and certainly do not include pilot.

I find it hard to believe the RAF would have given William a pass just because of who he is. The risks - to both him and other people - would have been enormous.

Interestingly, you can't become an electrical engineer either, but you can become a regular engineer. I assume that's because they don't want you mixing up wires and blowing things up

 

[Alison H]

There are a lot of internet rumours about Prince William being colour blind, but it's unlikely that he could have been a pilot if so. There's no way they would have made an exception for him: it could potentially have been dangerous to him and to other people. There are also a lot of wildly exaggerated rumours about his eyesight, but, from the sounds of it, he just needs to wear glasses or contact lenses like a lot of us do.


This is a story that seems to have cropped up a lot, though.

 

[Prinsara]

So we know William is only potential because of rumor and unlikely due to fact.

And he's the only one? It's a lot more statistically likely than some other things that have cropped up in royal gene pools...

 

[Leopoldine]

Colorblindness is known to be an advantage with marksmen and top sharpshooters. Male colorblindness affects green and browns to a great extent, and colorblind marksmen see patterns and movement and irregularities before other people. Prince William is known to be a great shot.

My stepmother was colorblind, a rarity, I know. She thought red bricks and tomatoes were purple. She couldn't see red. Florescent pink was her festive red. She had so much trouble with the darker shades like burgundy and maroon. All very confusing.

 

[SLV]

Colorblindness is known to be an advantage with marksmen and top sharpshooters. Male colorblindness affects green and browns to a great extent, and colorblind marksmen see patterns and movement and irregularities before other people. Prince William is known to be a great shot.

Yes, I have read about that as well. Apparently it goes way back to early mankind.
It makes it easier to see camouflaged animals. Both predators and prey.

 

[Prinsara]

Yes, and William is likely NOT colorblind. There seems to be nobody else to be discussed.