Unofficial Royalty

From a historical perspective, Spring 2005 will be recognized as having marked two important events. The first is that Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in a misguided attempt to force her legitimacy upon an unwilling public.  The second is that Prince William completed his degree at St. Andrews.  Fortunately for the monarchy, the two events coincided.  For with marriage to Camilla, Prince Charles has finally achieved his lifelong personal goal. Ironically though, in forcing a cloak of legitimacy upon Camilla, he has unwittingly cast off his own.  Enter Prince William.

Prince William is far from ready to take on the mantle of “Saver of the Monarchy.” He has shown a deep ambivalence to his role, in the truest sense of the word. Alternating between silent accomplice in Prince Harry’s decision to “go nazi” for a fancy dress party in January, and master handler of the media in the press call of 31 March, William stands on the precipice of crossing over from reckless youth to more deliberative adulthood.  It is, many have noted, a transition that his father has yet to make.  Yet the contrasts between father and son cannot simply be attributed to public comportment.  Nor can they be fully fleshed out in a short paragraph. Suffice it to say that with each passing year, William increasingly projects an almost tangible self-awareness that far transcends mere birthright.  On an especially optimistic day, one almost gets the sense that he could be more than a beloved monarch; he could become a beloved leader.

His love for his father is without doubt.  He stood by him as he married the woman who inarguably made his mother’s life a misery.  And yet, he managed to deftly mediate between public supporter of his father, and public endorser of the marriage.  For few who were watching could miss his friendly but steadfast refusal to stand alongside the newlyweds on the steps of Windsor Guildhall for a public photo op,--despite the repeated, willful gestures for him to step forward by the new Princess of Wales.  A weaker man would have complied.  A weaker man would have married her, come to that.  And one did.  At the best of times, we see William drawing from both the incredible savvy of his mother, and the more contemplative understatement of his grandmother the Queen. And despite some emerging differences between he and Prince Charles in the personality department, his loyalty to his father remains unfaltering. So we await with cautious optimism his actions and choices as he leaves St. Andrews.

And for those of you who are outraged by the fact that a clear majority sees Prince William as the obvious choice to succeed the Queen, there is but one person you should hold accountable.  So please don’t shoot the messenger - And anyway, what would be the point?  After all, she passed away eight years ago.

- Elizabeth W. King
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it