PRINCE HARRY(IED)
evawhite on March 3rd, 2008
I am convinced that the British common man is not just a tabloid junkie, but also a royalty junkie! Everything that any member of the British royalty does (or does not do) is instantly news. What they wear, who they see, what they eat, where they go (especially with whom) all of this is fodder for the tabloid mill. And then if one of them is a young, good-looking heir to the throne, albeit not an immediate heir, then the interest is all the more acute.
No other soldier would dream of coming home to such a hero’s welcome after just a 10 week military service in country like war torn Afghanistan. The British press is agitated by such questions as “if he had died what then!” One gushing, adoring columnist expresses great relief that the young prince has come away from ‘harm’s way’ unscathed and goes on to describe Prince Harry as an “unassuming, sensible, endearing and brave young man; clearly popular with his men and well regarded by superior officers”. Apparently his royal lineage makes him far more valuable than all the other young people out there fighting this bloody and pointless war. They certainly do not seem to deserve reams and reams written about their heroics and bravery.
Other portions of the British public have sought to dismiss the media glare on this news as propaganda or a publicity stunt. Another, more balanced view of this whole story is also taken by portions of the British media who question why the young man was sent to Afghanistan in the first place.
It isn’t as if he is ever going to be a professional soldier, so why was he accepted into the army, in what appears to be a rather farcical exercise. The Scotsman says, and I quote; “If every serving soldier was given the protection Harry enjoyed, their families would not be suffering as they are now. It all seems to have been such a pointless exercise.”
I have to confess people; I am more inclined to agree with the latter view, and am rather put-off by the media circus, even frenzy surrounding this occurrence. I am also inclined to a small amount of sympathy for the members of the royalty, bogged as they are every day, in whatever they do, by the unwavering glare of the media. What do you think?
