William and Harry — A tale of two Princes
It’s said that every picture tells a story — which is better than a thousand words. That was certainly true at Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final in Paris between England and South Africa.
What does the shot above tell us about the characters of our two Princes? A lot.
As the disallowed try was being arbitrated by the video judge, Harry signals a “T” for try to the referee. Maybe it was a Royal command. Unhappily, it didn’t work.
Meanwhile William looks towards the giant screen to watch the endless replays from different angles. He seems to be praying for a try to be given.
These are fascinating insights into their different temperaments and attitudes in a moment of adversity.
Now look at the picture below …
The result is now clear. Harry seems lost in thought, gazing into the middle distance, but not particularly distressed. He’s already moved on.
Wills, however, appears to take it quite hard. This is a real blow to him.
What does this say about how either would shape up as a future King?
Great pictures John! they really do seem to give a hint of the different personalities of the two boys.
I think both reactions are fair and both Harry’s ability to move on and William’s more serious measured response are attributes that would lend themselves to being Kingly.
I just saw pictures of the two boys partying with the team after the game and it made me smile, its good to see that they just enjoy these occasions and can get stuck in. I think their common touch is going to rejuvenate the monachy.
Though how Harry feels today for his engagement at 5.30 is another story, i would say he is suffering badly.
By Eliza on October 22nd, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Yes, Eliza, that WellChild engagement is going to be torture for him. There’s nothing worse than appearing in public with a monster hangover. I did once when I had to address executives on a business course after a night to end all nights.
Never again!
By John on October 22nd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Minding two young children after a good night out is no fun either I can assure you!
In fact that’s why I don’t worry about the boys and their nights out, we were all wild in our twenties when we were young free and had no responsibilities, the time will come when the two boys will have to quieten down too, so let them have their fun and enjoy life.
By Eliza on October 22nd, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Yes their personalities are definitely very different. However, did anyone see William turn slightly when the overhead screen declared “no try” and yell the “f” word? It was very plain to us and to those who were watching with us. Even though it is very common among the young to use that word liberally, I found it a little disappointing coming from him, especially as he was in a public place.
By Kim on October 22nd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Well said, Eliza! I am happy that Prince William and Prince Harry can enjoy these carefree days before the pressures of duty and position claim their youth. Thanks for posting the photos, John. I love seeing photographs of the two Royal Princes just being themselves, showing genuine emotion!
By Gigi on October 22nd, 2007 at 2:51 pm
These pictures make me smile. I love how each of the Prince’s handles this loss in their own way. Absolutely priceless!
Thanks John…
By Emily on October 22nd, 2007 at 5:26 pm
William is never watching the game? What does that mean?
By ClassyCanuck on October 22nd, 2007 at 5:29 pm
I think the pictures show the difference in how the two young men, not boys, perceive their lives in general. William will always bear the heady responsibiliy of the monarchy on his shoulders, a very serious role, while Harry’s life will be more carefree and spontaneous.
By Arthur on October 22nd, 2007 at 6:52 pm
it seems to me, that William is “el salao”. “El Salao” in Panama (where I’m from) means the unlucky one… Harry had gone to the games and England won.. Now Wills goes to the final and England lose. J/K.
By Ziny on October 23rd, 2007 at 3:48 am
All I can say is I’m wild about HARRY!!!!!! his love of life is so infectious he puts a smile on my face every time I photos such as these. William should try to loosen up he may be second in line but the full burden for him will begin when he becomes POW.
By Trudie on October 23rd, 2007 at 11:19 am
Harry appeared at his charity do yesterday and seemed none the worse for his hangover. In fact he looked to be in a very good spirits (no pun intended).
By John on October 23rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm
He missed his flight but caught a ride with the plane that brought England’s rugby team home from Paris according to Hello Magazine, and apparently was a big hit with the children he visited. I am very pleased with Prince Harry and find myself more enchanted with him every day!
By Gigi on October 23rd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Amanda Platell has a real go against William and Harry HERE.
She’s usually a very supportive and intelligent commentator.
By John on October 23rd, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Amanda Platell either has an agenda or she has never read anything about the off-hours activities of several of the sons of King George V and Queen Mary! (David, the Prince of Wales and his younger brother, the Duke of Kent.) Their antics make the party behavior of Prince William and Prince Harry sound like a tea party! I am very tired of these lazy journalists taking potshots at the Princes when they can’t find anything else to write about. I would be grateful if Amanda Platell would do something useful with her time, like become a professional journalist or get a makeover. Her hair and makeup definitely need improving. GRRRRRR!
By Gigi on October 23rd, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Perhaps Amanda Platell was out partying the night before she wrote her article about the Princes. That’s why her hair and makeup look so horrible.
By Arthur on October 23rd, 2007 at 10:44 pm
perhaps she had a kick ass hang over and was jealous the boys didn’t…lol
By Ziny on October 24th, 2007 at 12:53 am
LOL
Ziny and Arthur, you are both hilarious! 
If Amanda Platell reads RA (and who doesn’t?!) she has now be roundly told off! If she needs to be excoriated with further clarity, she may email me. I would love to give her a migraine. 
By Gigi on October 24th, 2007 at 2:22 am
I don’t understand rugby at all.. heck I’ve never watch a match in my life! I grew up watching baseball and football (soccer!).. I’ma HUGE fanof the NY Yankees… for youguys who live in the U.S. need no explanation, yet y’all in Europe or other continents were baseball is as rygby is for me… Yankees got eliminated two weeks ago…. let’s just say I followed the princes footsteps…or did they follow mine??? hahahaha…. Mr. Smirnoff was my best friend for a night! woopee…. I regret it the next day.. that’s a for sure…and yes, I’m a girl….. so, we have to understand they are human, YOUNG (I’m Wills same age) humans at that!!!
By Ziny on October 24th, 2007 at 2:28 am
Oh andifyoucould see a picture of me the night the Yankees lost… one second I was like Harry the next I was Wills, but with tears….COMPLETELY NORMAL…. huh? hahahahahaha
By Ziny on October 24th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Ziny, Mr Smirnoff is a fair weather friend.
Sounds like you had a good time. Maybe you and Harry are soul mates?
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Okay, everyone. Over in Britain, Amanda Platell is what we call a good egg. She was William Hague’s press secretary for a while. Who is he? He’s former Conservative party leader and author of a great book on William Pitt the Younger. He’s a good egg too.
I know Amanda has ruffled our feathers with her article on the Princes, but I think we ought to let that pass on this occasion rather than brew up a migraine for her. As a former editor of the Express newspaper, I think she probably knows all about headaches.
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 8:28 am
I was so annoyed by Amanda Platell’s article yesterday that I posted a comment but they didn’t publish it.
The central tenet to her article seems to be not that the Princes got merrily drunk but that they did it in the full glare of the media, she praises Prince Charles for having done his carousing behind closed doors.
That is a ridiculous position and one I wholly heartedly disagree with. The reason the Princes seem to have the common touch that Prince Charles doesn’t have is that they socialise in a regular fashion meeting normal people and are not coccooned with smarmy yes men and women who just suck up to them like Charles does.
By Eliza on October 24th, 2007 at 8:46 am
The article was a bit over the top, Eliza. Rugby celebrations are a man thing, and not to be fully understood even by a former Aussie like Amanda who should know a thing or two about “mateship”.
However, she has expressed something that’s widely believed among a large group of people : that the Princes should be setting an example for youngsters in today’s out-of-control binge drinking society.
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 8:54 am
You are probably right. It was exactly because they were with the rugby team that i am giving them so much leeway, I know men who would give their eye teeth to ‘hang’ with the Irish squad and would bore the rest of us senseless repeating and ROG said this and Drico said that and how we laughed……. It is a male thing and i get it. It was a unique occasion and of course they got drunk.
It is the nightclubs a few nights a week that I don’t get, fair enough to go once and a while if everybody is in the mood but not just as the default option.
But as i said earlier they are enjoying their freedom and it won’t last anyway they will have to settle down eventually, it happens to everyone.
What annoyed me in the article was she had no problem with the binge drinking just knowing about it. I understand what you say about setting an example but maybe they will have a better connection with the masses because of their shared wild youth. It will only get seedy if they become the oldest swingers in town now that would be a bad example!
By Eliza on October 24th, 2007 at 9:09 am
John, Harry and me soulmates? bahumbug…. I’m 2 yrs older than him… and I don’t believe in fairytales
By Ziny on October 24th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
William definitely yelled the f-word. The picture doesn’t tell the whole story.
By kit on October 24th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I saw that, Kit. He might have said “fudge” though.
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Harry likes older women, Ziny. Remember Natalie Pinkham?
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
yeah….. I don’t think so…. he’s cute and all… but I don’t think we’ll ever meet I don’t believe in fairytales.. I out grew that looong time ago.. learned it the hard way.
By Ziny on October 24th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Is there freedom of speech in the UK or is there not? Is drinking legal in the UK or is it not? For Heaven’s sake, what is all this sturm und drang about the Prince of Wales and his brother getting into the spirit of the event? World-class sporting events are emotional, and more often than not there is beer or liquor involved. I would be concerned if either of the Princes were going around using foul language in public frequently, but at a Rugby match? The Duke of Edinburgh has been known to turn the air blue with his cursing and King George V and King George VI, former Navy men, used very salty language.
As for Amanda Platell, sorry, John, but she gets no “pass” from me. If she is, indeed, an Aussie, then she is aware that serious drinking is very common in Australia and especially at sporting events. If she is so offended by it, let her go back to Australia and bellow at her countrymen about their drinking. You may think she is a “good egg” but she just smashed her shell with me.
By Gigi on October 24th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Ha ha, Gigi, you certainly take no prisoners.
What caught my eye in your comment, though, were the words “Prince of Wales” to describe William. Are you trying to tell us something?
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Freudian slip, John.
I never think of Charles as a prince of any description, so I gave the title to Prince William! 
I fear I am in a high state of agitation this morning due to the state of California being a wall of flames. 
If the wind doesn’t change direction or die down very soon, I dread what else may occur. I have family in various locations in California (Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego) so I am anxious.
By Gigi on October 24th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Sorry to hear that, Gigi. Malibu seems to be particularly hard hit. I have some contacts in Berkley, but I guess they’re well out from the centre of it.
By John on October 24th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Matt Drudge is reporting that U. S. Officials will be announcing that the cause of the fire is arson, John. This just gets worse and worse.
By Gigi on October 24th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Gigi, that is horrible news, indeed. When the authorities find out who this despicable individual is, I hope they throw him, or her, in prison to rot forever!
By Arthur on October 24th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I feel the same way, Arthur. The devastation is dreadful! Whoever did this must be a raving lunatic, to say the least!
By Gigi on October 25th, 2007 at 2:07 am
’serious drinking is very common in Australia’
stereotyping much? As an Aussie, living in Australia, following the Australian sporting teams etc I have never seen our players on 25 hour drinking sprees. The Australian image is not one of permanent drunkeness but one of sharing a beer with a mate at a BBQ in the backyard watching Ponting’s boys flog the wet pommy asses.
By Ellie on October 27th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Very sorry to hear the news from the west coast of america. But I have visions of those responsible being found not guilty by reason of insanity.
By kit on October 27th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Unfortunately Kit, “not guilty by reason of insanity” is an accepted defense in the US justice system. Some nefarious characters have escaped punishment using this plea, but it’s legal and we accept the jury verdict and move on. I, personally, think the plea should be changed to: “guilty, but insane.” This way, the guilty individual can be confined to a psychiatric faclility for treatment and once they are judged sane, they go to prison for their crime.
By Arthur on October 27th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Er, Ellie, England did beat Australia in the recent World Cup.
By John on October 27th, 2007 at 2:42 pm