Now that he has earned his wings, William is expected to receive Royal Navy training. Bahamas-ahoy.
Prince William's helicopter antics hurt his image
LONDON (AP) -April 24, 2008 Then Harry went to war, and William started tooling around
England in his Royal Air Force helicopter, bending military rules
by dropping in - literally - at his girlfriend's house and buzzing
some of his illustrious family's many properties.
Now it's bad prince, good prince - at least for a while.
William, 25, is seen as pampered and overindulged, and Harry,
23, as a gallant soldier who put his life on the line for queen (in
this case, grandma) and country. At least that is the prevailing
public view as embarrassed military officials admit they goofed by
letting William treat his pricey Chinook like a private toy.
"It shows William in a bad light," said public relations guru
Max Clifford. "It's the whole spoiled brat syndrome. If any other
young officer in the RAF were to do this, they would probably be
kicked out of the forces in two minutes. It basically says all the
wrong things. It says because of who I am I can do what I want.
That's the sort of message that upsets the British public."
He said William, second in line for the British throne, has
damaged his credibility at a time when Harry is enjoying the
popularity that came from his deployment on the front lines in
Afghanistan, which was cut short after word of his presence in the
war zone leaked.
Harry's dogged insistence that he be allowed to go into battle
with his mates rather than get a comfy post back home has impressed
the British public - and the fact that he looked terrific in
uniform did not go unnoticed, at least by female readers of British
newspapers, which published hundreds of photos of the
soldier-prince.
And William was not helped by the shortage of Chinook
helicopters hindering the British war effort in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Some acid-tongued commentators pointed out that the
Chinooks should be used to support British troops, not to indulge
William's "top gun" fantasies.
The role reversal comes after several years in which Harry has
at times received harsh criticism while William had been put on
something of a pedestal.
This has even applied to the young women in their lives. The
press has given William's paramour, the elegant, dark-haired Kate
Middleton, rave reviews as a possible future queen, but has been
less kind toward Chelsy Davy, the blonde Zimbabwean who is Harry's
frequent companion.
There is a tremendous wellspring of affection for both young
princes, who suffered the sudden, traumatic loss of their mother,
Princess Diana, when they were just boys. But royal watchers fear
William may be squandering some of this goodwill with his flyboy
antics.
"I just think in a modern monarchy you cannot do this sort of
thing and expect to get away with it," said author Robert Jobson,
who has written about the royals.
"You have to be accountable. I think William has made a mistake
and he should realize it. Harry had been portrayed as a bad boy, as
the playboy prince, until he went to war, but now it's William who
needs to sharpen up."
William's questionable sorties took place when he was attached
to a Chinook squadron as part of his Royal Air Force training. He
completed his basic training several weeks ago and received his
wings in a ceremony attended by his father, Prince Charles, and his
girlfriend.
In addition to landing on Middleton's lawn as she and her
parents watched, he used the $20 million helicopter to attend a
stag party on the Isle of Wight - picking up Harry on the way - and
also flew low over Highgrove, his father's estate, and Sandringham,
one of Queen Elizabeth II's country retreats.
The press has been poking fun at William since the flights were
revealed, with some columnists quipping that no British girl will
be satisfied with a boyfriend who courts her with a bouquet of
roses bought at a local gas station when the future king can woo
his beloved by landing a Chinook in her garden.
But some military men defended the prince and the instructors
who okayed his flight plans.
Charles Heyman, a former officer who edits "The Armed Forces of
the United Kingdom," said helicopter pilots have always bent the
rules. He said he used to fly with a U.S. airman who used his
military helicopter to scour the countryside for vintage cars he
could buy for bargain prices. When he saw something he liked, he
would swoop down, land and make an offer.
"It's the sort of things helicopter pilots have done forever,"
Heyman said. "They've landed in their girlfriends' gardens all
over the UK and all over the USA. It is illegal by service
standards but they can always get away with it. Some people could
say it's part of legitimate flight training, but really it's not.
You'd have to really stretch to say that."
Still, he said the fact the both young princes are active in the
military is important.
"It raises the status of the military and it shows the top
people in society are part of it, and that's good for morale," he
said.