Different Strokes

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British, Charles, Invictus, Prince Harry, Prince William, Royal Family, Sentebale, The Queen

Debating the merits of William versus Harry in 140 characters via Twitter is no mean feat, and while I believe comparisons between the princes are both unfair and redundant, it is also essential to look at the big picture.

As patron and conceiver of the Invictus Games, Prince Harry has excelled in his position in Florida this week. He has hugged his way across Orlando championing the needs of veterans and urging those of us watching to shelve the pity in favor of being inspired by the incredible accomplishments of the many wounded yet valiant servicemen and women. As a veteran himself Harry carries his own scars from the battlefield, and as such he has devoted himself to aiding in the physical and mental rehabilitation of these brave men and women.

Watching Harry do what he does so well inevitably leads to comparisons to his older brother, Prince William, who has in recent weeks been accused of being work-shy, reluctant and even lazy. For those in the peanut gallery it’s rather easy to sit back and throw around criticism, but there are other powers at play.

Up until the abdication of her uncle, King Edward VIII, the Queen led an idyllic childhood, one in which her parents, largely free of the stresses of royal life, were very much present. With the untimely death of her father in 1952 and her subsequent accession, it was a childhood she had little chance of emulating for her own children. The demands of the job kept her away for months at a time, and even when she was home she was burdened by the strains of constitutional duty. Criticism therefore swayed the other way with accusations of her being a detached and uncaring mother. As the direct heir, Charles too was denied the quality time with his children he no doubt longed for. He has always been an attentive father, but due to the nature of his position Charles and Diana were required to be fulltime working royals. Given the extremes of their experiences, Charles and the Queen are very keen for William to be afforded the quality family life they were forced to sacrifice.

As second-in-line to the throne there is no set constitutional role for William, and with a long royal future ahead, is it really such a bad thing that he be allowed the opportunity to give his children a loving well adjusted childhood? After all, George too will one day assume the mantle of sovereignty. The Queen’s advancing years are of course front and centre when the argument for William to “do more” escalates, but do more he will upon the upcoming conclusion of his air ambulance contract.

The other issue often forgotten is that for better or worse Prince Charles has pretty much spent his entire adult working life overshadowed by others. First by his beautiful, charismatic young wife and later by his popular son and daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge. Before the ink on the marriage certificate had even dried, calls rang out for William to overstep his father to become the nation’s next king. Constitutionally it doesn’t work like that, but it was no doubt a bitter pill to swallow for Charles, a man who has devoted his entire life to preparation for the top job. At sixty-seven Charles is the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, and when he does eventually become king he will do a fine job, but with society ever more driven by youth and beauty, he will constantly be fighting a losing battle to remain relevant. If at this stage the Queen or indeed Charles wanted William to be doing more, he would most definitely be doing more, but there’s no denying his destiny is calling.

Yes, Harry is doing a cracking job, and as long as he’s single and without children, it is easier for him to keep the focus on his royal role without the added pressure of impending kingship. With the births of George and Charlotte and his resulting drop in the pecking order, it would have been very easy for him to fumble around and lose his way. One only has to look to Prince Andrew to see the difficulty in carving out a successful role within the royal family when there really is no set role to be had. Instead, the success of Harry’s chief causes – Sentebale and Invictus – promise to be tangible long-lasting legacies for which he should be immensely proud. He connects in a way that is truly infectious, and his energy and vitality are a tremendous asset to both crown and country. Like his mother before him Harry is a big hugger, and his tactile and affectionate approach is embraced wherever he goes. It is a style that works beautifully for him, but why should the same be expected of William?

Out of respect for the position it is unbecoming for the future head of state to run around hugging everybody. The Queen doesn’t do it, nor does Charles, so why should William? William connects with his particular patronages in his own way, and it is individuality that should be recognized. If everyone took Harry’s approach the monarchy would become one big love fest. Us reticent Brits like the formality of our monarchy, and all that hugging would prove quite alarming at a tree planting, state banquet or during a walkabout.

The Queen struggled to identify with Diana’s touch-feely approach, but she acknowledged its positive impact right away, and she supported Diana throughout all her charitable endeavors. I am not comparing William and Harry to the Queen and Diana, but rather using their unique styles to illustrate how important individuality is and how neither approach is right or wrong. Throughout the royal family, from Charles and Anne, to Camilla, Sophie, Edward and Philip, each member of the family brings his or her own flair to the table, and each has its place.

I too am ready to see William find his calling and to embrace his destiny in a way that inspires confidence, but for a man who lost his mother so publically and tragically, and who has no say in his future, it is also important to recognize that he is a human being wrestling to find an acceptable balance between his public and private roles. We are all fallible and we all make mistakes. William wouldn’t have been forgiven quite so quickly as Harry over the Vegas antics, just as Harry wouldn’t be required to exhibit the same level of decorum with a visiting head of state.

Everyone loves Harry, but pitting brother against brother, style against style and position against position is an imprudent exercise. Harry will continue to shine within the royal family, but it is William who will be king, and it is William who has a lifetime of service ahead. I wouldn’t discount him just yet.

 

 

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Heirs and Spares

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Abdication, Baby, Britain, Buckingham Palace, England, George V, Henry VIII, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth, Royal, Royal Baby

It’s been a while since I have blogged as I have been hard at work writing a book on the Queen for the Pocket Giants Series soon to be published by The History Press.  But now, on the eve of the Queen’s eighty-ninth birthday, as my focus shifts and the world awaits the impending arrival of her fifth great-grandchild, the spare to William’s heir, we are reminded once again that we are all a witness to living history.

Throughout the British monarchy’s thousand-year history, the role of the “spare” in relation to the heir has been a tricky one. Some spares have revolutionized entire eras, while others have irrevocably tarnished the family name. Free of the burdens of impending sovereignty, spares have long been able to benefit from the trappings of royal life, but without a definitive constitutional role, it has been hard for many to carve out a worthwhile existence in which their own achievements could be recognized.

Henry VIII was perhaps the most notorious of all royal spares. He assumed his place as heir apparent in 1502 upon the death of his elder brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, who passed away from an unknown illness five months shy of his sixteenth birthday. Although famed for having six wives, two of whom he had executed, Henry’s kingship continues to have a lasting impact on modern British life. His squabbles with the papal authority led to the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, whereupon Henry installed himself as Supreme Head of the Church of England – a position the reigning monarch continues to hold today. Recent amendments made to the Laws to Succession – brought before Parliament in 2013 – now allow members of the royal family to marry a Catholic without sacrificing their place in line, but a Roman Catholic monarch remains forbidden.

King George V, the current Queen’s grandfather, was the second-born son of King Edward VII, and was also a royal spare. His elder brother Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, died suddenly in 1892 after contracting influenza at the age of twenty-eight. His death placed George in direct line to the throne and paved the way for the first Windsor monarch. The early years of George’s reign were blighted by the First World War. In response to the British public’s escalating anti-German sentiment, George changed the house and family name by Royal Proclamation in July 1917 from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the more Anglican-sounding House of Windsor. Almost a hundred years later the House of Windsor continues to reign. It was also George who delivered the first Christmas Message to the “British Empire” in a radio broadcast made from a temporary studio set-up at Sandringham in 1932.

The Queen’s father, King George VI, was yet another spare thrust into fulfilling a destiny not his by birth. Following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, who had reigned a mere three hundred and twenty-five days before stepping aside in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, George reluctantly took on the role of King. Leading his country through the war years, he restored a sense of continuity, boosting public morale, and as such was a popular ruler. In 1926 his first daughter, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born. At the time of her birth she was never expected to be crowned Queen, but later this year, on September 9^th, 2015, she will surpass Queen Victoria’s record to become the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Raising Princes William and Harry, Diana was conscious that William, as heir, would be well taken care of by the establishment. She made a concerted effort to ensure Harry was treated equally and never felt left out. Though Harry remains one of the most popular members of the royal family, he, along with fellow spares Princess Margaret and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has been at the mercy of incessant public scrutiny and has faced harsh criticism over a slew of ill-advised choices.  In recent years however, Harry has risen above the naysayers to champion the needs of wounded veterans as well as overseeing the work of his charity Sentebale.

With the birth of the new baby Cambridge, William and Kate are now charged with raising their own heir and spare, but as history has shown, the British monarchy is anything but predictable. In two of the last three generations of monarchs the second-born son has stepped into the top job and reigned successfully.

It will be many years from now before these children are expected to embark on official royal duties and make their own mark on the international stage, but one thing is certain: one should never underestimate the potential of a royal spare.