Britain's Prince Harry Cheated on Exam. Who Might it Remind You of?

[Dark Jedi]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/10/14/britain.prince.ap/index.html

Ah. The world of the privileged. Somehow, I don't think it is far-fetched to say Bushie might've done the same thing at Andover or Yale. I have always wondered how someone could've attended such prestigious schools and yet speak like an adolescent. I hope you all will find the following question intriguing: Is Bush really deficient or is he only watering-down to appeal to his sub-standard base?

[Matilda]

1. Perhaps he's found his natural constituency.

n/t

[barb162]

2. I always thought Bush never could have gotten into Yale yet alone

make it through without a ton of greasing by dear ol' dad and his connections. Just think, someone deserving didn't get in while that fool was let in and graduated

[politicat]

5. He was a Legacy... AKA Affirmative action for rich, white males.

And females, but usually males.

Sigh...

Pcat

[Dark Jedi]

6. Talents Not Necessary.

I thought same. Bush is the perfect living example of "It's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know".

[FlemingsGhost]

16. Actually, getting into an elite school is the hardest part.

Once you're there, you wouldn't believe the extent to which a school like Yale will cut a student slack. As long as the bills are getting paid ... You got to really fuck up to get tossed out. Reflects poorly on the school's reputation, don'tcha know.

So, Dubya had nothing to worry about, really. Being a legacy candidate immediately removed the most difficult challenge.

(on edit: typo)

[Gyre]

3. The British can't get rid of a "monarchy" which is worthless;

so why would anybody think they could get rid of Blair?

Gyre

[politicat]

4. Harry lives in a shadow. There's a lot not healthy going on with him.

His parents' marriage was a train wreck, their divorce nasty and protracted; his mother dies while he's young, his elder brother is far more favored and from news accounts, more intelligent and considered better looking; his father is a disaster area much of the time, the entire family is repressed, he's always surrounded by guards and the press...

And Harry has to just get along on his own. So of course there are going to be drugs and drink and bad behavior. If he can't get attention the right way, he'll get it the wrong way. In this, he's no different than any other child whose parents have no time for him. He might be happier in a working class household in Bristol. His behavior would fit in better...

He's the spare to William's Heir, and he knows it. 700 years ago, he'd be a Prince John to Richard Coeur de Lion. Now? Harry fights in pubs and abuses immigrants, drinks and does drugs and cheats.

Let's hope William has a long life, marries happily, and begets a passel of brats. Or that Britain phases out their Royalty. Harry's got a lot of growing up to do before he'd be safe as a world leader.

Pcat

[tjdee]

22. I agree with this.

Poor Harry is all I think about when I think of him--which is terrible, because he doesn't want/need anyone's pity. I hope one of the family takes care of him and loves him.

Maybe he'll grow out of it?
The Royal Family don't really count as world leaders, do they?
I mean, we talk about Tony Blair all the time, not Queen E./Prince Charles.

Which begs the larger question....what exactly do the Royals DO??? Business? I imagine a large deal of it is philanthropic work, and mostly symbolic and morale boosting. Is that correct? Brit DUers??

[cmkramer]

7. Gene Lyons once said

that one thing journalists learn is that anyone can say anything. It doesn't make it true. IOW, just because this obviously disgruntled employee says he cheated doesn't mean he did. Nothing's been proven either way. I'm guessing someone is doing an investigation -- official or otherwise. I'm sure the British tabloids will be all over this.

It's a cheap, easy accusation to make since all indications are that Harry is not exactly a brainiac -- although there is plenty of real brainpower in the Spencer family. Both Diana's sisters and her brother did quite well in their O and A levels. And Harry does seem to be quite the "problem child".

It'll be interesting to see how this one turns out.

[MADem]

8. Well, I can tell you that

...Andover got a new hockey rink thanks to GHWB. Massive thing--you could play pro puck in it. And they got it right around the time weewee was finishing up. GHWB broke the ground.

Haaaavaaad got a library around the time weewee went to business school. Guess who wielded the golden shovel?

As a product of both private and public education, I have to tell you that FOR THE MONEY, the private experience is overrated. You can get a good education, but you can also get a lousy one and get a piece of paper just for showing up. And if you have a rich daddy, those D's can become C's faster than you can get a good table with a hefty gift to the maitre'd. The only thing private education, in certain schools, does give you is access to people with a ton of money---it's like membership in a private Greedy Club.

But a lot of the really rigorous education is happening in public institutions.

[saracat]

17. I went to a prep school with the same type of people you mention and

And you might get alumni preference but your grades weren't tampered with. You get a much better education than at public schools. I also went to a public school so I can compare as well. Access to people is part of the experience ,but it is more of of a connections thing so as to help achieve success in later life. And it is not just about money. It is also about achievement.
I don't have children, but I know if I did I would want to give them every advantage possible and I certainly would send them to a private school. Public education in this country is at an all time low. Our citizens are barely literate.That is why so many watch Fox and think Bush is great. Because we have made our people stupid!

[MADem]

31. Did you know

...that ANDOVER HIGH SCHOOL in Andover Ma, and PHILLIPS ANDOVER, where weewee went, used to participate in a little intermural scholastic competition? Phillips quit when Andover High wiped the floor with them for a couple of years running....

[geek tragedy]

9. Ted Kennedy. eom

[saracat]

10. I am just curious as to why you assume this story is true.

There seems to be little proof other than apparently a barely audible tape that could have been about anything. Does the fact that Harry is royal and wealthy necessarily make him a cheat? What reason is there to take her word more than his? She might be doing this for money and Harry might be a likely target as he was the more rambunctious of the boys. I have always liked Harry because he appeared more "real" than William. He is a genuine boy who gets into occasional trouble not unlike most kids his age. He doesn't appear to be as obsessed with image as the other royals. Perhaps he should be cut some slack. JMHO. And I was curious why he isn't given the benefit of the doubt.

[arikara]

13. I agree, saracat

I've always sympathized with those two boys, especially Harry for the way that they have to live and for losing their mother so young. Harry actually reminds me in both appearance and his brattiness of my younger brother who was killed in a car crash at a young age .

I do hope that they both turn out well.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Why should he get the benefit of the doubt?

This isn't a court of law accusing him of something, and Harry isn't directly involved. It's not a question of his word against hers - it's a question of what the tape says, and what the other behaviour of Eton was. The teacher is suing for unfair dismissal.

[LSdemocrat]

32. Why jump to a conclusion anyway?

[CHIMO]

11. Please Use The Article Headline

[Ilsa]

12. The only problem I see is that the Chimp could never

admit that this was true. He simply won't admit any details to not being perfect. He'd blame it on the teacher jumping the gun and providing the answers prematurely at best.

[Stockholm]

14. Good thing Harry won´t be ruling the world... like * n/t

[truthisfreedom]

15. take a peek at this video of bush from 10 years ago. it's pretty darned

shocking to compare him now to the man he once was.


Bush 10 years ago

[sbj405]

19. Minor difference, Harry really is royalty, Bush just thinks he is

I mean Harry could be a total dimwit and he'll still be prince/king one day. No real need to cheat.

[fudge stripe cookays]

20. Read post #4

Unless William dies in an unexpected accident or something prettty young, he probably WON'T be. He's #2 son, you see.

FSC

[noonwitch]

21. The Queen needs to ensure that Harry and Jenna Bush never meet

So that they can never breed together. It would be a disaster.

[barb162]

23. what a horrible thought! devil X devil = super devil

[skygazer]

24. The fascination with British royals has always puzzled me

They have no power, they are essentially figureheads. We fought a revolution to get out from under all that nonsense yet Americans have this freakish obsession with them. All the Diana worshipping was just plain bizarre (and I don't mean to insult the dead - merely making an observation).

They have tons of money, many beautiful residences and who pays for all that? I'm sure the British taxpayer pays for a hefty portion. And for what? To go about and wave haughtily at the little people?

I just don't get it.

[Ratty]

26. Damn. Harry was the cute one too

Never cared much for the whole Prince William thing, but my that Harry is a looker.

I agree about the weird fascination with the royals. I've been watching a few PBS shows about the various royals (Hey! I was bored, okay?) and it really got me thinking. I can understand the fascination among the older generation but as Britain's population matures do you think they'll finally do away with the whole thing? The royals are kind of leeches aren't they? Do they do *any* good at all? They are the caretakers of a great deal of wealth, but so is Bill Gates and the government doesn't subsidize him. They do all kinds of crap for charity but so do celebrities and the government doesn't subsidize them. Do the royals enjoy as much popularity among Britain's youth as they did among the youth of the 50's? I mean, they're really on their last legs finally, right?

[yellowcanine]

25. I wouldn't be surprised if you go back far enough you would find that

some ancestor of the present Royal Family "cheated" in order to become King or Queen. Elizabeth I did "off" her sister Mary I believe. That certainly wasn't very nice of her.

[skygazer]

27. Elizabeth didn't "off" her sister Mary

She did have her cousin Mary Queen of Scots executed which may be what you're thinking of.

However, Richard III had his small nephews, the rightful King and his brother killed so he could grab the throne. Many instances of that in the past. The Wars of the Roses were all about the succession to the throne.

Basing your leadership on heredity always seemed a silly thing anyway.

[noonwitch]

28. There is an organization dedicated to clearing Richard III's name on that

I think they're his descendants. They blame Shakespeare for blaming Richard in his play.

I've read some history books-Richard had his nephews killed. They found the bodies when they did some work on the Tower in the 1700s. Who else had the motive and the opportunity? I wish I knew the name of the society, they probably blame Henry VII for it.

[saracat]

30. There is apparently no eveidence that those bodies were

even male let alone the princes!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

29. Exactly what part of an art project

will prove useful in his career as a military officer?

>>
The former teacher, Sarah Forsyth, 30, has told the tribunal that she wrote nearly all the text of an art project that Prince Harry submitted to pass an important exam in 2002.
....

The grade that Prince Harry received for the course work helped him win admission to his next school, Sandhurst, where he is now training as a military officer.
....
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