Britain’s Prince William to begin army career

[Scooter24]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10760787/from/RSS/

Britain’s Prince William to begin army career
Second-in-line to the throne joins younger brother Harry at elite academy

LONDON - Prince William is due to start his army career at the Sandhurst military academy on Sunday.

The second-in-line to the throne is following younger brother Prince Harry into the elite academy to train to become an officer.

Prince Charles is expected to travel to the site in Camberley, Surrey, to bid farewell to his son on his first day, a royal spokesman said.

Buckingham Palace announced last October that William would join the army.

William passed the Regular Commissions Board exams — a series of tests and tasks to gauge the ability of candidates to meet the mental, physical and emotional demands facing army officers.

William has the prospect of eventually becoming commander in chief of Britain’s armed forces — the role traditionally occupied by the monarch.

(more)

[Kagemusha]

1. Note to Americans: The CinC title is meaningless in the U.K.

Just so everyone knows.

[TheBaldyMan]

2. both princes will be serving in Iraq, (probably as infantry officers).

after their officer training they will be serving as British Army junior officers. None of the Blair offspring will be enlisting soon.

[1932]

3. But have they thrown dress-up parties where they've gone as Nazis

and their guests wore black-face and dressed as formerly colonized people?

[Stella_Artois]

5. No they haven't

But have their parents opened a new colonial era where America invades countries for oil and bullies the world ?

See ? We can play this game all day.

I'd rather be offended by a prince wearing swastika armband then be killed by America in Iraq, and i'd venture to suggest the families of 100,000 dead Iraqis would agree.

[1932]

Why do you have to forgive one to criticize the other?

To the extent that you want to visit the sins of the father on the child, criticize the Blair kids all you want, but if I were you, I'd still be uncomfortable with a future monarch who, HIMSELF, chose to dress like a Nazi and who threw parties in in the last decade where very wealthy attendees thougth it was appropriate to dress in black-face as that country's formerly colonized people.

Everyone should be disturbed by that.

These are the people from the class of people who buy the government that does their bidding.

[Stella_Artois]

7. No he didn't

I think you are confusing him with someone else.

[1932]

9. I think you're forgetting recent history:

http://socialitelife.com/mt/archives/nibbly_things_prince_harrys_an_idiot_and_more.php

[TheBaldyMan]

11. FYI Prince Charles is first in line to throne then ...

Prince William is second in line to the throne, He dressed up as a lion (british national symbol)
Prince Harry is third in line of succession, he's the one in the stormtrooper uniform. He subsequently apologised for that act as thoughtless and insensitive.

[1932]

13. These people and their friends are the elite and powerful.

And I think that party reflects how they think of the world.

[TheBaldyMan]

8. I'm not forgiving anything

I'm highlighting the difference between the political sleazebags that run headlong into a war that nobody wanted and those that by class or tradition feel that they have a duty to serve their country.

btw William went as a Lion to that party and I for one burst out laughing when I found out what Harry went as.

[BooScout]

12. Before you jump to incorrect conclusions ....

I suggest you get your facts straight. Harry dressed up as the Nazi, not William. William will one day take the throne....not Harry.

As far as I have seen, William for a young man seems to have his head on pretty straight.

[1932]

14. I didn't claim that William dressed as a Nazi.

[BooScout]

16. Yes you did....

And I quote from your post above....


"...but if I were you, I'd still be uncomfortable with a future monarch who, HIMSELF, chose to dress like a Nazi..."

[1932]

17. "a future monarch" implies satisfied contingents

it applied to Harry too.

And I was indicting the whole family AND their friends.

[BooScout]

18. Implied?

If that's what you meant you should have clarified it with the word "possible" or "potential" instead of backtracking to explain a meaning....and please enlighten me why the entire Royal family needs to be indicted?.......if nothing else they bring billions of American Dollars into the UK each year from tourists.

[1932]

20. Implied contingent: that royal deaths lead to their succession.

William isn't neccessarily going to be king some day. He has better odds than Harry.

I know that it was Harry who dressed like a Nazi and not William. William, incidentally, had a birthday party a couple years ago, the theme of which was "empire" or something like that, at which people intended dressed as the colonized.

Explain to me in more detail, by the way, why tourist dollars justify a monarchy?

[mantrid]

30. Important point here--even if Harry hadn't worn the costume...

The theme of the party was racist and tasteless in the extreme, and no one involved in the senior echelons of public life should not have had anything to do with it. I would have certainly realised that when I was their ages, and I didn't even go to Eton...

[mantrid]

29. sorry, but that's nonsense

The old canard about the monarchy bringing in bucketloads of tourist cash really is one of the lamest in the monarchist playbook. France attracts more tourists than Britain and we all know what they had the good sense to do with their royals. If the royals go, the palaces will remain- and indeed be able to offer wider access to the public- and so will the history, which will be richer without the persistent monarchist efforts to whitewash large elements of it; like the fact that Victoria was a self-absorbed, vindictive, reactionary old cow and republicanism in Britain was very strong during her reign.

And apart from all this, isn't abrogating a country's democracy in order to attract toursits basically...well...whoring?

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Neither William nor Harry threw the party

and Harry is unlikely to be a future monarch - that involves William both having no children and Harry outliving him (while he has a year or so advantge over William, he's given that up by smoking). The attendance and Nazi costume were bad judgement, I'll grant you. But William probably has 30 years to develop some better judgement, if the monarchy lasts that long.

[jwirr]

24. Prince Harry was the one wearing a nazi symbol. William

is the heir.

[1932]

6. dupe

[hlthe2b]

10. So would this American....

[AndreaCG]

21. Only Harry dressed as a Nazi

William had more sense.

[Glorfindel]

4. Better a meaningless ceremonial title in the U.K. than a madman's

finger on the button in the U.S.A. In any sane society, the monster currently holding the Commander in Chief's title would long since have been removed from office and incarcerated. What a comfort it would be to have a sane, well-meaning head of state in this country, in an office separate from that of head of government. The U.K. has been well-served by its Monarchy, IMHO.

[mantrid]

28. Really? I'd say the opposite

The monarchy have been served pretty bloody well by the people of the UK, given that they're the ones with the palaces, the estates and the vast wealth. And ultimately it's all because their thug ancestors bumped off another set of thugs and stole their lucrative peasant-exploiting gig.

What's more it's largely thanks to the monarchy, and royal prerogative powers which devolve vast powers technically belonging to the monarch into the hands of our Prime Minister, that Tony Blair (Sane? Maybe. Well meaning? Maybe not.) wields far greater power within the UK even than Bush within the US, and can even take us into war without a parliamentary vote if he so chooses.

Gosh, aren't we lucky.

[MasonJar]

19. I think that it is past time for all of us to forget about a teenage

boy's temporary thoughtless costume. He apologized and has undoubtedly learned a good lesson from the mistake. It is quite marvelous that the princes are going to serve their country in Iraq. We will never see that happening here and we all know it. It is a dangerous assignment and a credit to their parents and themselves. These are people with class; no matter how rich the Bushes are and the Cheneys become they will never be patrician--privileged of course, but eternally classless. It chagrins me still to remember how GWB acted when he was invited to stay with the queen; as I understand it ... she was not amused. The Europeans hate Bush...hell, I hate Bush too.

[LisaL]

22. LOL. They are nowhere near actually

comanding armed forces in Iraq.

[bettyellen]

23. Class my ASS: BLOOD MONEY is BLOOD MONEY

obviously some of the "patrician" class miss the good old days, oh what good sport it all was.

[mantrid]

32. Errr...since when did we on the left start giving a shit about

whether or not people are "patricians", let alone suggesting that being one makes them a better person? What is this, the eighteenth century?

[wickerwoman]

25. I bet he's going to be really close to the front lines too...

Good for him that he'll present at least the appearance of mingling with the hoi polloi but there is no way in hell he's going anywhere near the fighting. Can you imagine what would happen if he was kidnapped? I actually think it would be extremely poor judgement to send either of them to Iraq. They'd be putting the rest of their units at risk. You might as well just paint an enormous target sign on the backs of everyone they serve with.

It's a gesture more than the Bush girls are willing to make, but no less empty in the end...

[XemaSab]

26. I think it's an important gesture

It's just a big gesture for the princes to "enlist" in the first place, but at least England will have a Head of State who was actually IN the military, unlike certain countries which shall go nameless...

[sweetheart]

27. earning what can't be earned

Without joining the army, his life is a boring gilded cage; i respect
his decision to join up. Less so as an officer.

I think he and his brother, if they really want to show their military
interests, should join as enlisted men to take the monarchy out its
arisotcratic classes. But it seems william is very interested in
preserving those classes or his birthright will be naught in a republic.

Bottom line, some kids joined the army, and to elevate it any more
than that is to ignore human equality and to buy in to the heredetary
aristocracy (read: republican views). Bugger the aristocrats who live
a free life above the taxpayer. Its really a bit much in 2006,
even IF they join the military.

[Coexist]

31. Why all the bashing? I think its admirable that he has the cajones

to put his money where his mouth might be one day (in a public speaking/advocate role). Unlike certain big-mouthed, boil-assed, daddy-can-you-get-me-out-of-service, "I had better things to do" people who like to play the chickenhawk game around here.

Also, he looks so much like his mother (in a masculine way). Its nice to see a good-looking royal around! Charles and Camilla don't really set the imagination afire, however their love story played out.