Prince Harry is right. He didn’t ask to be birthed into one of the wealthiest, most privileged families on the planet. He’s his own man and he should be able to make his own decisions; act in any manner he sees fit and not be accountable to the public. In fact, we should feel sorry for him because we’re forcing him to act outside his own inherent nature.
Or are we?
The problem here is choice. In 1660 when King Charles II and his hedonistic court squandered his inheritance on wine, women and song, the British Monarchy looked to its taxpayers to fund their privileged lifestyle. In return, the taxpayers expected the Monarchy to shape up or ship out. To be a safe beacon in a world full of turmoil. To have a strong moral compass. To be dedicated. All qualities epitomized by HM Queen Elizabeth II. A bonafide inspiration to the thousands upon thousands of volunteers and taxpayers who graciously gave of their time, energy, and money to make the wedding of her 2nd in line to the throne, her 60th Jubilee and London 2012 Olympics a monumental success. Success at a time when the world economies were and are struggling to survive. Success at a time when Briton’s are struggling to find work. Such a huge success that they could easily take it to the bank in selling the Great Britain brand worldwide. Imagine that – more jobs for Britons because the rest of the world believe them to be dedicated, hard-working and committed to getting it right.
As a member of the British Monarchy, Prince Harry had a choice. He could have chosen to opt out, taken his inheritance and let it be known he was disappearing from public life. Instead, Prince Harry’s choice was to remain in public life. With all it's accompanying perks and privileges. So we gave him a chance. We forgave him all his past infractions, bad judgments, bigotry, drug use, embarrassments, indiscretions, etc. We put it down to youthful mistakes.
Harry’s choice this past weekend was to demonstrate that all the money and privilege in the world obviously can’t buy intelligence. He chose to put enjoying the perks and pleasures of being Royal ahead of all else. He chose to insult his grandmother’s lifetime of dedication and hard work, insult The Commonwealth’s taxpayers' and volunteers' lifetime of dedication and hard work, insult his hosts/hotel who comped his lavish shenanigans, and insulted his host nation by implying their women lack character. In short, he squandered his nation’s most recent success stories and international glory -- all in the most thoughtless, selfish, senseless, spectacular way.
Take away Harry's access to inherited wealth and privilege and you have a 28 year old man who wouldn't be able to support himself. He'd be that son you despair of – always blaming everyone else for his own shortcomings and mooching and sleeping on your couch because he quickly found out that charm alone is not enough to maintain a successful, independent life.
It’s irrelevant how Harry chooses to spend his downtime, after all everyone kicks back on their vacation -- but we do it in such a way that doesn’t endanger our job, our employer, or destroy the company we're working for. We do it -- otherwise we'd be fired! No matter what the job, you make sacrifices if you want to keep that job. You show up on time the next morning no matter how sick your kid was the night before or how late you may have partied into the night. When the economy tanks you take pay cuts, work longer hours, tighten your belt, spend less time with your own family. You happily do those tasks you despise because you know it’s the sacrifice you have to make to earn job security, earn job promotion, earn more money, earn more perks and privileges – earn a better lifestyle. Last I checked, we just gave the British Monarchy a huge pay raise (i.e. an increase in taxpayer funding).
It’s once again time for Prince Harry to make a choice. Does he man up and take full responsibility for his own actions? Does he face the music and stop hiding? Does he pay his own way or does he opt out? After a week of the same old obfuscation and damage control, I'd suggest the time has come for Harry to opt out. A dissolute Prince Andrew is explanation enough. Let Harry marry Chelsy Davy and her "filthy" rich father with dubious connections to Robert Mugabe. Let Prince Harry lead the only life he's shown himself capable of -- that of a trust fund disappointment.
The British Monarchy is and has been verging on the ridiculous a la The Monaco Royals -- in which case they should be promptly abolished with the passing of The Queen. Their only saving grace right now is Kate Middleton – a heavy load to bear for someone who, thank god, wasn't born "Royal".
