« Beacon of faith | Main | Someone worth reading »
January 17, 2005
THAT uniform
Well, poor old Prince Harry. He's gone and done it again, only this time he's really given the PC merchants food to throw. I must admit to being in two minds on this, firstly he's 20 and irresponsible - and even as 3rd in line for the throne not the brightest tool in the box. The other half of me recognises the fact that many will take great offence at his wearing a uniform supposedly representing the most evil regime in Europe, but there is a bit of that that asks the question - so how clean, upright, and goody-two-shoes are the media who take delight in slinging mud at the Royals on every possible occassion? After all, this is the same pack of scum who lauded the late, and in this blog anyway, unlamented Diana, presenting her as a saint when everyone knew she was not. Unless you were a member of the Diana cult, that is.
I suspect that much of the venom now directed at him by the same pack that a few years ago were pushing him as a possible replacement for his father, is that he has not turned out as they wanted, to be another glamorous but male version of the "tragic Princess". They wanted him to be the torch bearer for their "vision" of her offspring being the fairy tale princes who would defeat the "evil" Prince and deprive him of his throne and position. Instead, he has turned out to be a confused and rather dysfunctional young man whose every moment is scrutinised, critcised, and chattered about ad nauseum by idiots with no morals at all. On the one hand they claim to respect privacy, but then immediately offer a big fat reward to someone at the party to breach confidence and sell a picture.
As a matter of pedantic interest, looking at the published picture, the first thing I noticed is that the 'Swastika Armband' is not, in fact, the Nazi version; it is the Hindu religious symbol which stands with the cross pieces upright and horizontal. The Nazi version lies at an angle with the cross pieces lying at 45* from the vertical. Also, if that is supposed to be an "Afrika Corps" uniform, he should not have worn the armband because it wasn't worn by the Afrika Corps. The rest of the uniform also appears to be a little sketchy; my reference books show a differnt style of jacket and shirt - not the loose fitting and rather casual outfit he is wearing.
Harry has learned an important lesson, one hopes, from all this. His private life is far from private. Murdoch's anti-Royal bloodhounds will find ways to sell their souls in order to bring to light anything which shows up the Sovereign or her family in a bad light. Perhaps in future he will be a bit more discerning in his friends - and a lot more careful.
Prince Charles has done the right thing; both his sons will be visiting Auschwitz in the company of a Jewish survivor. Perhaps that will make both of them a little more aware of the reality and, perhaps, too, it will shut the flapping mouths of the press corps airheads who delight in slinging mud. Perhaps they should also take a little more note of the words Christ used when a mob of outraged elders brought him a "woman taken in adultery".
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." I suspect that not one member of the press corps now howling their outrage and baying for Harry's blood are sinless enough to be able to pick up a single stone.
Posted by The Gray Monk at January 17, 2005 11:10 AM