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"Who wants to be King!" |
Growing up as a child in the 1980's and 90's, I always wondered if Henry of Wales; commonly known as Prince Harry, resented elder sibling William for being primed
from birth, to join the ranks of historical figures such as Henry the Eighth, Elizabeth
the First, and Queen Victoria, in becoming a future ruler of Great Britain - while
Harry had to grow accustomed to the relegated life of the lesser valued Garfunkel, to his brother's Paul Simon.
Of course, growing up under public scrutiny as they have, and
unless craftily trained as crafted actors of De-Niro and DiCaprio proportions, time has proved this has never been an issue. Viewing the brothers now as mature adults, it is clear to see their relationship is more Enid Blyton than Shakespeare, and that William has all the markings of a fine, respectable national King, and harry the hallmarks of a fine, respectable, international playboy; and are both perfectly adapt in balancing the serious nature of responsibility, with the silliness of play, in equal measure. Now, in 2013 - the roller-coaster of royal adolescence, begins once again...
It was impossible to ignore the summertime
birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first baby, Prince George Alexander Louis
of Cambridge. Beside being drawn in by his cute chubby face, or glowing universal regard for the British Monarchy, the story's main point of interest, was how one day little baby George will – much like his father, rule as King of the United Kingdom. That innocent collection of tiny fingers and toes, is guaranteed to eventually carry legal power over 60 million 'loyal subjects', and a
lesser amount toward 2 billion members of the commonwealth; a third of the world’s
population. For Baby George, bedtime fairy-tail stories of Princesses and Kings, are actual recollections of family history; which must be a very strange, unique reality to grow into, through childhood.
With strong rumours circulating how the Royal couple plan for a second child, I wonder how George will feel as he begins to consciously understand a life groomed to rule, while his little sibling is able to enjoy a
more carefree lifestyle; though still disciplined and educated - just not to the level of a baby who will be king. While George goes through a childhood of nurturing and cultivating the fruits of society, little brother or sister gets to eat them; only trained for rule, in case tragedy or illness befall George – which thankfully,
rarely ever does.
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"Me, King. You, normal." |
I guess this is an aspect of the Monarchy, royal-skeptics
fail to understand - or merely choose to ignore. The life they live is not a choice, and they cannot simply decide they no longer wish to be a royal,
and walk away; like a president, corporate CEO, or Hollywood movie star. They
are groomed from the get-go to carry a weight very few could ever imagine; only able to share the experience with select members of society who have experienced the same pressures; oddly enough, a child born into fame of the same generation may understand his woes - Beckham kids take note.
Sure they have tremendous wealth,
travel across the globe, and have to fight off looneys who try to break into Buckingham Palace, but the price for this lifetime of public service - which lasts from their first breath, till the final one, is the lack of freedom to walk away from it. As the world watches George, wishing they could be him, I wonder how often he will wish he could simply be one of us; watching the rulers, as opposed to ruling the watchers?
As far as the original sibling rivalry is concerned, between George's upstanding Father and crazy uncle? I imagine the Cambridge kids were far too busy working, to
worry about issues as trivial as who gets to play master. But still, it makes you wonder just how challenging being a royal actually is, and just how much work is necessary to keep the monarchy as respected as it is. Now I think
about it a little more, maybe William should have resented Harry; while his face may eventually appear on the item the rest of us spend a lifetime chasing, Dukes of Cambridge never make it to Las Vegas. Maybe George will become a mixture of the two; only time will tell...
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