Well Spoken Harry!

By Seikholen Thomsong

"There is no way I am going to put myself through Sandhurst and sit back home while my boys are fighting for their country"

- 2nd Lieut Harry- the third in line to the British Crown.

The younger of the siblings had so much been tabloid scandal fodder in the past. Not so long ago the marriage of his parents hit rock bottom causing much bad publicity. Speculation was rife in the media and the chatteratti community about his actual parentage. Some tabloids went to town insinuating that Harry was indeed Hewitt's son and not that of Charles'. There were rumours that a DNA test was to be conducted. Interestingly Harry's mop of hair resembled that of Hewitt's. That was just about it and nothing more was found to substantiate the claims. Hewitt we all know was the alleged paramour and bed-mate of late Lady Diana.

The effect of the trauma at the hands of the media was unfortunate for some one so young a lad. It drove him wild. He reacted the same way a young man whose parents have been scandalised would. And that was to hit back and hit hard, which he just did. Many thought it was just some pent up teenage angst and rebellion. More could be read into it if you look in deeply like I do. His drunken binges, wild parties, swastika adorning social attires and other wild escapades would have been the symptoms or reactions to the various scandals that had put the media limelight on the royal family and on him in particular.

One cannot choose one's parents, one learns to accept them with passage of time, through adolescence and maturity that they are as fallible as any human being. Harry would have been happy had his father been true to his mother. He also would have been happier if Diana concentrated just on bringing up her sons rather than be seen painting the towns she frequented red and tragically end up losing her life in Paris. Diana felt scorned and hell indeed hath no greater fury. She got back in the way it would have hurt Charles the most- that was to be involved with men socially, economically and culturally way beneath his royal birth or status. It was a sexual/love powergame between two individuals. The casualty it turned out was the impressionable Harry as William was older and more mature and could take it in his stride.

Harry created notoriety rather than news,which the paparazzi and the tabloids lap it up. The significance might have been lost on many people but to look a bit further in, it was symbolic of the disdain he had for the media which somehow was responsible in his eyes for whatever happened to them. Every act of his seems to be in defiance of the media.

Then Sandhurst happened and Harry could find a distraction, a cause and a healthy dose of purpose and self worth by donning the uniforms and committing his life to the service of his beloved country. Sandhurst made a man out of him. Slowly memories of his wanton ways recede to the past. The Academy brought out the best in him; one could see the latent leadership skills and the proven camaraderie for his men from the quote mentioned above.

Interestingly, he chose to join the battalion of Hewitt who the media claimed was his biological father. Scratch beneath the surface , you would see his defiance written in brilliant letters of gold. He seem to be thumping his nose at the very media who scrutinised, scandalised, demonised and crucified his private life. You would realise there is fun in proving someone wrong and there is an equally stranger fun in shocking the wits out of making someone believe that his bull of a claim could be true. Harry is just having fun even taunting, mocking the media in his choice to join Hewitt's regiment.

Prince Harry has a long way to go and one hopes he would realise all his military leadership potentials and become the jewel in the British Crown. Though it is too early to predict, he would someday be an effective national leader if the opportunity arises because we have seen that he has that trait which is the basic source of true leadership of men.