Prince William is beginning life as an army officer after arriving at the barracks of his new regiment.Say this for the Europeans -- they do aristocracy right. It would be unthinkable for someone with William or even Harry's proximity to the throne to not serve, war or no.
William, who is second in line to the throne, will report for duty later for his first official day with the Household Cavalry.
The 24-year-old, who is joining the Blues and Royals regiment, will be based at Combermere Barracks, Windsor.
After his first year in the Army, the prince will turn his attention to constitutional affairs.
This process will be in anticipation of when he eventually accedes the throne.
By joining the Army, William is following in the footsteps of younger brother Harry.
Meanwhile, North Americans seem to allow our aristocrats to have all the wealth and power of old-school nobility without any, uh, nobility.
2 comments:
I take your point, but Prince Charles did serve in the RAF and Navy, including captaining a minesweeper and flying an F4 and Harrier.
There's obvious reason to keep future Monarchs out of the military career, but by the same token they also have to put in at least some time, if only for show.
I'd say you're dead on about the American aristocracy (and the Canadian too, come to think of it), or at least the vast majority of it. All noblesse, no oblige.
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