The general consensus of Prince Harry’s Spare was that the parts of the memoir devoted to Harry’s military service weren’t the most interesting or gossip-worthy sections. I sort of agree, even though I understand why Harry wrote so much about his tours of duty and his training. Much of the book is about his mental health journey, and one of his major goals is normalizing conversations with veterans about mental health. What I found fascinating about those sections was Harry’s descriptions of the mostly ex-military men on his staff and his father’s staff, advising him and pushing him into military service and Apache flight training. While I absolutely believe Harry would have found a way to go to war regardless of their advice, he was definitely put on his path by men he trusted. It was not the same for William – his military training and service was merely ticking off some “future king” boxes. Still, the narrative is being rewritten to make William sound like he was very keen to serve in Afghanistan.
The Queen wanted both William and Harry to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan when war broke out in 2001, before deciding it was too risky to send the future heir to the throne, an ex-Army chief has revealed in a breach of protocol. The decision over whether the princes should take part in the conflict was discussed at a meeting between the late Elizabeth II and General Sir Mike Jackson, formerly head of the British Army.
In an upcoming ITVX documentary called The Real Crown, Sir Mike breached protocol by revealing details of his private audience with the Queen. He said: ‘What goes on in those audiences and who says what to whom remains for the two people involved, and I will break the rule about not divulging what goes on on this one occasion. She was very clear. She said, “My grandsons have taken my shilling, therefore they must do their duty.” And that was that. But it was decided that William as heir to the heir, the risk is too great. But for his younger brother, the risk was acceptable.’
The Real Crown reveals that the Queen had put a lot of thought into the decision as she had detailed information about the risks faced by UK armed personnel in Afghanistan. Sir John Scarlett, at the time head of MI6, said: ‘Of course she has complete clearance to everything. She has complete access to an exceptional amount of info and insight for longer than anyone else. William was very keen to go.’
He added: ‘She’s very, very discreet, completely reliable and completely on top of the detail. I remember thinking at the time, “Wow, Her Majesty knows more about this than we do”.’
William completed a training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst spanning 44 weeks after graduating from university. He was commissioned as an Army officer in December 2006. He joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) until 2008 and was later attached to the Royal Air Force and Navy. Harry served in the Army for ten years, rising to the rank of Captain and undertaking two operational tours of duty in Afghanistan, in 2007-8 and 2012-13.
The documentary shows that William was stopped from joining the war, despite wanting to, due to his position as a future King. Mark Cann, director of the British Forces Foundation, said in the series: ‘William was very keen to go. Unequivocally. But it was complex, and some very great minds and experienced people took a view on it. I think it was really tricky. Anybody who’s in the military who hasn’t actually been on operation feels a sense of disappointment. And I think especially that was the one (war) at the time, you’ve got everyone around you at the time who’s been involved in it. So there is a sense of disappointment.’
Well, it sounds like QEII signed off on sending both Harry and William into Afghanistan but other people – people in the military, one would assume – were the ones to say that William shouldn’t go. I actually don’t read this particular story as William being coddled as the heir – I think they always used Harry as a “canary in the coal mine,” and after seeing what happened to Harry on his first tour, they shut it down. Plus, those military men knew William was deeply unprepared. Please. That man half-asses everything.
Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like anyone is addressing the fact that William still could have served in some sort of overseas military function, just not in a theater of war? There are lots of other military postings and William could have had his pick. So why didn’t he get that experience? Don’t tell me, I think I know.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales sit for an official photo with The Prince of Wales’s company at a St David’s Day parade with members of the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards in Windsor England, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. It is the first time The Prince has visited the Welsh Guards since becoming Colonel of the Regiment.,Image: 759474294, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Alastair Grant / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales sit for an official photo with The Prince of Wales’s company at a St David’s Day parade with members of the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards in Windsor England, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. It is the first time The Prince has visited the Welsh Guards since becoming Colonel of the Regiment.,Image: 759474448, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Alastair Grant / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William attends a St David’s Day parade with members of the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards in Windsor England, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. It is the first time The Prince has visited the Welsh Guards since becoming Colonel of the Regiment.,Image: 759490193, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Alastair Grant / Avalon
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- ALDERSHOT, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Prince William, Prince of Wales meets with Junior Ranks of the Irish Guards in the dining hall and enjoys a glass of Guinness after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Mons Barracks on March 17, 2023 in Aldershot, England. Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the parade for the first time as Colonel of the Regiment succeeding The Prince of Wales, the outgoing Colonel.,Image: 763502797, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- ALDERSHOT, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Prince William, Prince of Wales meets with members of the Irish Guards and enjoys a glass of Guinness after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Mons Barracks on March 17, 2023 in Aldershot, England. Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the parade for the first time as Colonel of the Regiment succeeding The Prince of Wales, the outgoing Colonel.,Image: 763503442, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- ALDERSHOT, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Prince William, Prince of Wales laughing with Junior Ranks of the Irish Guards in the dining hall and enjoys a glass of Guinness after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Mons Barracks on March 17, 2023 in Aldershot, England. Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the parade for the first time as Colonel of the Regiment succeeding The Prince of Wales, the outgoing Colonel.,Image: 763503751, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the Army Training Centre (ATC) Pirbright in Guildford, Surrey, meeting troops from the Commonwealth who have been deployed to the UK to take part in the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Soldiers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand have gathered at Pirbright to rehearse their roles in the funeral on Monday. Featuring: Prince William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom When: 16 Sep 2022 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales sit for a group photo during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales enjoy a glass of Guinness during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
They knew that this lazy putz would get himself or others killed. He would be the fly in the ointment. They knew what a useless fool he is and always will be.
When they say the risk was too big i think they mean that the risk was too big for whatever unit he would serve with. Even Harry was basically a bomb magnet and when it became known he was to serve in Iraq, that plan got pulled off the table. Also, actual military personnel that served with both harry and william have said that there was definitely a difference between the two and how they were with the rest of the soldiers. William acting like a future king and harry being one of the guys.
Ps: it’s so evident that william is jealous of Invictus
And those two things go hand in hand together, IMO- how Harry was around those he served with and Invictus. I feel like Invictus (while inspired by the US Wounded Warrior games) could only have become the success they are if they have someone leading/creating/involved with them who was an active duty soldier, who experienced what the soldiers experienced, etc. Harry is able to relate to veterans because he is a veteran.
But even if he was deployed, I don’t think William ever would have been able to relate to veterans. Can he really relate to anyone? does he even try?
@becks1: that william would never come up with something like Invictus is obvious because he could have done something like that for ambulance personnel (obviously not a games but u know what i mean).
Many ambulance personnel struggle with mental health (due to witnessing trauma) and pressure on the job. What has william done for that community? Absolutely nothing
@chloe he did tell them that Coronavirus was overblown (wasn’t that EMTs and ambulance personnel in Ireland that he was having that conversation with?) . Are you implying that is not having empathy?!?!?!
William is jealous of everything Harry is and does because Mr. Incandescent realizes that he is inferior to his younger brother in all ways. It appears that he pouts and acts lost because his “caretaker” is gone for good and he appears to want some sort of revenge. Sad.
LOL, William looks like Elon Musk in the main picture, I thought it was Elon Musk
Elon in a toy uniform. The gold tassels are so embarassing.
They knew he would not survive, he’d put other people at risk, it was too much of a risk in other ways, and (for different reasons than Edward probably), he did not have the temperament or personality to succeed or thrive in any role in the military. Frankly, probably neither W or H should’ve served in that way because of modern security concerns. They should’ve been training both boys to be high-impact philanthropists and public servants and if there was another way they could serve the war effort in/while doing so, even better.
I agree with your assessment, Susan C. William would be a liability, not just because he’d be a target but because he’s lazy, dumb and cowardly.
@Susan Collins
LOL 🙂 Cosigned!
I’m wondering if anyone will ever admit that sending William to Afghanistan would have been a good idea.
Anyone else wondering if part of the extraordinary amount of drinking done by the RF that Harry described in Spare is so that when they hang out with real people and drink like normies, it’s so they can have a pint and not even feel it, thus be less likely to spill any tea?
No, sadly that’s just normal British drinking. We have a problem.
“…you’ve got everyone around you at the time who’s been involved in it. So there is a sense of disappointment.” You mean, Harry was going and William threw a tantrum because William always wants what Harry has, especially if it could lead to respect. William could not have Harry out-militarying him. That would be the only reason why he’d have been “keen to go.”
Agreed!
I mean, that would explain the rumors around Harry not being allowed to advance further in his military career because he would “outrank” William.
From what I have read, it’s not rumor, it was an order from the Queen directly to Harry.
They wanted him back home in his box!
What I appreciated about the military section of Spare is that it wasn’t necessarily for me the civilian. It was documentation in his words to his fellow soldiers, what that time meant to him sentimentally and logistically. It was a legit commitment for him, a passion and a calling. Not a box to tick, not a costume to wear. I didn’t get goosebumps reading it or anything, haha, but it added just one more layer to him.
My job is with the Navy and listened to that part of Spare while on an actual Navy base — it was super heavy for me, meaningful, and hit hard. I think that part of the book had a TON of resonance for the Veterans, and that’s who Harry wrote it for. It did, in fact, give me chills — but also made me ache inside in a way that I recognize from my work with Vets.
Harry said in his Colbert interview that he wrote about the number of kills he made specifically for veterans, because it’s not talked about.
From a big picture standpoint, upper class/rich people no longer go to war. In WW2, everyone went, so the ruling classes knew what veterans went through, but that changed in the latter half of the 20th century. Harry is now one of the few remaining who can cross the divide and can advocate to the ruling classes (in their own language) what veterans need.
His voice is important because he has the actual experience of combat, and that voice will continue to be listened to regardless of his title or lack thereof.
I thought that section provided the most realistic picture of going to war than what we normally get in the media. It might be the least gossipy section, but it was actually the most interesting and gave a lot of heft to the overall book.
I have no links to the military whatsoever and I found it absolutely fascinating from a number of perspectives including his own experiences within the Army and how those interacted with his position as a prince but the biggest by far way understanding more about the day to day life and how that war was fought.
I was fascinated with that section of the book, especially when he described the training involved to be an Apache pilot. It was dangerous, and he was so brave, and had the utmost trust in his teachers. I don’t think William ever learned to command/pilot an Apache.
@RoyalBlue, no William never learned to fly an Apache. I don’t think he ever qualified as a full pilot period, only a co-pilot, but I am not up to date on the rules and such regarding those things lol.
One of the RRs tweeted about it, pre-Meghan when they were slightly less awful. Budgie (William) vs. Airwolf (Harry) when it came to the helos they were training in.
William is a coward, pure and simple. If he wanted to be other than an ambulance pilot he could have been. These folks can not rewrite his history by pretending he has character because he does not. He has always done the minimum and will continue to do so because he is not a smart man and he feels entitled. He is just a warm male body easily controlled by feeding his ego and allowing him his many vacations. As if he wanted to go in a war zone, tomfoolery at best to even suggest this.
I tend to think if Harry hadn’t been photographed naked in Vegas his tour in Afghanistan would have been vetoed, too.
He went to Afghanistan before Vegas, didn’t he? Wasn’t the Vegas trip as part of his Apache training?
William has never been a pilot, he’s only been a co-pilot. He was rushed through flight training against all protocols, so he’s never been fully trained. His eyesight should disqualify him anyway, but he got snuck into flight training through a back door/transfer.
He nearly lost his wings at SAR because he never showed up to work. He didn’t leave SAR because SAR was going private. He could have stayed two more years and completed his contract/obligation before the US company took over.
Problem was, the incoming US owners were already examining schedules and ranking talent. They weren’t going to cover up William’s uselessness like the military had, skipping him from branch to branch before he became a massive problem for any one branch.
That’s why Billy left Wales when George was born, not because he was ‘going to be a working royal now’. Soon after he pulled his EAAA stunt and refused to take on more royal work. Moving to Anmer as an excuse for EAAA work, when the commute from KP was the same as the commute form Anmer.
All smoke and mirrors to cover his laziness, lack of training, and lack of commitment.
He had to undergo a year of additional training simply to be a co-pilot at EAAA. He rarely showed up to work there either, with his co-workers going on record that he was around less than 10 hours a month iirc.
Then there was the whole debacle with paramedics losing their jobs because William’s RPOs had to be in the helo too. They were getting trained as paramedics, pretending they would act as EAAA paramedics but instead simply being William’s bodyguards. The whistle was blown, the plan was outed. Magically *someone* donated a bigger helo to EAAA which could accommodate William, the RPO, and the hired paramedics.
EAAA publicly slapped down his lies about how he wasn’t allowed to work more royal hours because of EAAA rules. After those two breaches, the head of EAAA was removed. A royal insider, the man who coordinated W&K’s wedding, was put in charge to shut everyone up.
So many hoops created and jumped through, just to mask William’s laziness and ineptitude when it comes to ‘serving’ his country in the military.
And Willnot’s vision is atrocious and would not have passed a vision test. He literally had to wear his glasses when in flight. His selfishness, and that family enabling him, put others in danger.
I don’t think William’s a coward. He’s strong willed and domineering and I don’t think he’d lack courage in battle. But I do think he’s too lazy to want to be working as a soldier full time.
Dear Cairidh………….Every bully is a coward first.
And BullyBoyWilly has a DOCUMENTED history of being both a coward, a bully and an entitled brat. All he’s done is grown taller and older. Those early characteristics remain firmly embedded in his psyche and manifest in his behavior.
I think William is a coward but in HIS mind, he’s like that line from the….Mighty Mighty Bosstones? Song…..”I’m not a coward I’ve just never been tested, I like to think if I was I would pass.”
He probably thinks he’s not a coward but he’s never really had an opportunity to show bravery so its the same in his mind.
He’s been protected and coddled his entire life so he thinks he’s brave but the reality is he’s not.
@Maxine Branch
When you said “….[Willy] is not a smart man…” what immediately jumped into my head was the voice of Forrest Gump saying “I’m not a smart man.” LOL
However, Forrest is waaaaaay smarter than BullyBoyWilly because he has a level of self-awareness that BullyBoyWilly could not even begin to dream of.
May I add, if one needs to get back at a bully, just use their tactics and actions against them.
I would caution against it, though quite effective, makes the retaliator just as culpable as the bully.
They are living/breathing example of fear, that has to be enough.
Avoidance is a better strategy….
My Lord, Baldy is lazy as hell.
Possible that his temperament was unsuitable, since he seems to not be able to exert self-control and he would likely want to be the one in charge. He doesn’t seem as if he would follow orders well.
It’s easy to be keen about doing something when you know there’s no chance in hell you would ever be made to do it.
Harry already covered this topic in Spare. Harry was dispensable as the spare to the heir. He even selected his burial spot prior to being deployed. William was jealous that Harry was able to serve in combat. They are pretty much solidifying what Harry said in Spare which I already knew was true. Thanks for pulling back the curtains Harry.
Seriously? Wow, imagine doing that at such a young age.
Was William really envious or was he relieved? I’m sure he would have liked the admiration that came with serving in combat, but I’m not at all sure he would have liked the risks and rigors of it.
Yep. I read Spare. It exposed a lot.
Any picture I see of this guy in military all I can hear in my head is of him wailing “I let you have veterans” the way him and his wife dress up in military cosplay is just too ridiculous. It’s so amazing how much Meghan and Harry have truly exposed these guys and all just by being themselves. Their(w&k) incompetence is asTounding
@Layla
Agree. Absolutely embarrassing cosplay. In the first pic after the story…What’s so incredibly funny in military action?🤷🏾♀️
Won’t takes takes nothing seriously and it’s a matter of life or death for those guys. No one around him is as amused as he is. He’s probably recanting some prank he played on a fellow cadet during his training days. The Black dude gives zero.
QE was full of it.
William as heir, just as every heir, was never going to the fighting. TPTB would never put the heir in a dangerous spot.
The security risk of protecting the heir and even Harry was a burden to the other servicemen.
Charles and Andrew also served but where never in any danger.
In fact, for many decades the Monarch and the Heir were not allowed to travel/fly together in case of a crash.
Yes, this. William and Harry would never have been able to serve at the same time in a dangerous situation. William might have been “keen” and/or jealous, but serving in Afghanistan would have left Harry at home as potential Prince of Wales if William was killed – and I think that possibility was and even bigger danger for William.
I note history repeating itself, that they sent Andrew to fight in the Falklands, but not Charles. Once again, the Spare takes all the risk, and the heir gets all the reward.
“ Plus, those military men knew William was deeply unprepared. Please. That man half-asses everything.”
Exactly. They knew he couldn’t handle it despite what his ego was telling him. And I bet he half assed his training too. He was probably coddled the entire time and had others do his homework for him.
William couldn’t lead a fly. He would have shat himself and high tailed it for cover leaving his men in the lurch the second a bomb went off.
@ Snuffles, Bullyiam has lived a life of not having complete any meaningful work his entire life which is glaringly evident with his refusal to simply take on the task of the required Duchy program. Bullyiam has been coddled and protected his entire life which is evident in his RAF training. Which Bullyiam took full advantage of as he refused to simply show up and take his duties seriously. Bullyiam is all show and no commitment.
IIRC, previous articles, or videos, surrounding programs which share Harry and Bullyiam present, it’s glaringly obvious that Bullyiam sees it as “beneath him”. Bullyiam has a permanent mindset that any participation on his part is simply for his appearance, nothing more. No amount of effort with Jobsons ridiculous lies or utter bullshit will cover up the fact that Bullyiam is committed to actual service as he has historically refused to do so, period.
Given that Wiliam and Harry were not on the Queen’s shilling, I have a hard time believing that the Queen wanted both of them to go to war. William as heir was to be protected at all cost so the Queen wouldn’t have wanted William to go to war.
I’m in two minds. On the one had she was absolutely there for protecting the institution (the heir) but at the same time she did take the concept of duty utterly seriously and may have expected them to do what they signed up for – fight for their country. She lived through the war when joining the army and going to fight wasn’t a career choice, it was a necessity.
IMO QEII considered all of it her ‘personal shillings’. She didn’t separate taxpayer-owned from privately owned in her own mind, even when it came to things like taxpayer funding for working royals. To her, it was all ‘hers’.
Taking the queen’s shilling is a saying applied to anyone who joins the British army. The army swear allegiance to the Queen, not the government, and they’re paid for it, so they’re seen as working for the Queen.
Yeah, William even half-assed his service as an air rescue helicopter pilot. In Afghanistan, his fellow soldiers would have had to pick up all the slack. But I don’t believe this was ever seriously considered. Doing your duty can take many forms. As Harry pointed out in SPARE.
The fact that the EEAA had to get a larger helicopter with space for a co-pilot tells you just how hard William worked. He never got his full pilot training despite all those years on the RAF base.
And there are many stories since buried that William was often not on the RAF base and that Charles had to pull some strings to keep him in the RAF.
It also had to house the RPOs, who were initially going to take jobs from the paramedics onboard. That plan was outed and *someone* coughed up the donation to EAAA to buy a bigger helo.
Hmmm. I know the RF protects itself and the Firm at all costs, but I don’t buy that the late Queen wouldn’t have been willing to take the risk with William. Yes, he was the Heir, but they had a spare. The odds of both dying would be pretty low even if they both served in a theater of war
Also, it’s not like there were no other spares? Andrew was her favorite and he had two daughters. She also had two other children who had kids. There were a lot of Windsors to go around. She and her father both set precedents for someone further down the line ending up on the throne and doing a solid enough job in the role.
Also, there is a tradition of Royals and Aristos serving in the military. It’s seen as a point of honor. In WWI, officers, who came from the Upper Classes, were killed in significantly higher percentages than common soldiers were.
OK, I just read HeyKay’s comment and I guess things have changed, lol. It still strikes me as odd since as I said, there were a LOT of spares. But I guess only one is really groomed for it?
So yes, you’re right that there are a lot of spares. But remember how opposed the Queen was to abdicating, to all the issues she had stemming from her uncle’s abdication and her father becoming king. Her mother always felt it was unfair that the kingdom was forced on her husband, etc. Now obviously that was a very different situation than an heir being killed in combat, but even so – I can believe that she was probably hesitant to allow anything that might divert from the (new) direct line – so her, Charles, William, then George. Remember all the pictures of that group together? the direct line was very very important to her.
She also accepted that accidents happen, the next in line takes over, that’s the way it works.
She saw it up close with the Gloucester line. Prince William of Gloucester died in an airplane crash in 1972, his elderly father passed two years later. She yanked in younger brother Richard the architect right after William’s death. Made private Richard his wife (somewhat) unwilling working royals pronto.
That accident may have made her more cautious to have William in combat, not less.
Regardless, I dont think it was the queen standing between William and Afghanistan.
I agree it was William not wanting to serve in combat, not QEII wanting to keep him out of combat. She sent her beloved Andrew into a war zone, even if he was ‘safe’ in a helicopter. She wasn’t going to value William more than Andrew, regardless of the line of succession.
Since the BRF was famously supplied with an heir and a spare, there’s absolutely no reason why William and Harry couldn’t have taken turns being deployed and serving in the military. Except that they spent years building William up as the heir and tearing Harry down as the spare, so that couldn’t possibly be allowed to happen. William was not allowed to be useful in a real situation and Harry was not ever considered capable of being the heir.
That’s true. For years the narrative was dumb, stupid Harry so they really believed that William was the great hope. No way they would have risked that. But oh how the tables turned!
BS story. Willy was not up to it. He also didn’t serve anywhere else. Charles didn’t do anything either, for whatever reason. The powers also knew from Willy’s time at Sandhurst (losing his rifle) that he was absolutely not up to active duty.
Also, “They’ve taken my shilling, they need to do their duty.” I don’t believe she ever said that, especially as Edward took up non-military pursuits.
Yeah, that can’t have been an actual quote, she doesn’t seem to have been someone who spoke like that. Or think like that.
True, @Penelope Pittstop. That quote doesnt sound like betty, even in private.
Isnt it interesting how these snitches are coming out now and quoting betty now that she’s dead. Just shows they never respected her in life. And also that she was indeed being taken advantage of (by the likes of chuckie, the bee and the wasp) in her later years.
OK let’s get a few things out there, things that I PERSONALLY KNOW AS FACTS. I’M a veteran, I have met Harry twice
So time line facts, Harry’s first tour was forward air command, he was out on the ground calling in air strikes and getting aid and troops where needed, whilst staying to protect troops on the ground with him. That he was there WAS LEAKED in a magazine. He, under protest was taken back to the UK where all hell broke loose because he wanted back out there but kept being told no. That is why he retrained as an apache pilot, to be able to go back to the lads he had served with. General Dannat (retired), said Harry gave THEM the ultimatum, he was going back no matter what. He went back, he served and I’m proud of his service. The only reason Harry left the army is two fold, the first being he was up for and had earned promotion, but NOOOOO the Palace couldn’t allow that,, because he would then have been HIGHER IN RANK than BULLYAM and that was soooo damaging to bullyams position. Yes bullyams position as a raging narcissistic bully! BULLYAM could have gone to so many places around the globe and served, but cushy bum had to stay close to home and let the papers do what they always do, DETRACT from Harry’s bravery and service to make bullyam look like fking superman. I hope to christ I never come face to face with him, or ill as I am, I will show him what REAL veterans think of him.
Well, I don’t think it’s a coincidence these stories of William’s valour and desire to serve are coming along now that the publicity for Invictus is everywhere. William really wants that for himself. Every time I see William covered in scrambled eggs and gold braid and medal ribbons I want to puke.
I LOVE that. I really hope/believe that it will be those parts that will have staying power, and continue to add credibility to his commitment to supporting vets.
I feel like the Queen saying that William needed to “do his duty” was more about just serving in the military, not going to war. Harry has talked a few times about how he had to push for it, I don’t think William going was on the table.
Again, this is something that I think is supposed to make the BRF look good, or explain why Harry was deployed to war and William was not – but it just reiterates the idea that Harry was the spare and he was dispensable – not just to the institution, but to the family.
William could have gone to Kuwait, or any other central command theater, been far away from the action, but still on active duty. he could have been an adjunct to a general, safe and secure on a miltary base. Why wasn’t he? Because the generals had a war to run–they didn’t have time to coddle an infantile, needy princeling. William’s a liability, and these kind of stories make that more and more clear. There’s panic in the royal palace, and all the wailing over Harry proves it. There are plenty of people in the royal family to back up William. There are Beatrice/Eugenie, there’s Peter and Zara Phillips, who could be appointed to any number of supporting positions (who better to be courtiers than them?) There’s even Louise and James down the line. If William was up to the job, Harry wouldn’t be needed. Harry has lapped William in every test that matters–in temperament, in military service, in achievement, in royal duties. This attempt to build William up only leads to more questions the palaces don’t want the public to ask and they themselves clearly have no idea how to answer. It can only backfire on them by showing how completely unsuitable the Waleses are to their future role.
I wouldn’t be surprised in the courtiers start talking up George in a few years, talking about how different he is from his father, the subtext being “Wait for George, he’ll be the Good King this country needs.” Poor kid.
If William really wanted to do more but not in a combat zone, he could have done something like become a military lawyer and serve that way. But he didn’t want to.
Military lawyer? William? The guy barely got through his geography course.
@BeanieBean I’m laughing too. I’m sure Nic was laughing as she typed that out LOL.
@BeanieBean — LOL, and he couldn’t even get through a 10 week *bespoke* course at Cambridge on ecological farming, he noped out halfway through. He didn’t even have the credentials to be accepted there in the first place, and the other students were furious that he went to the front of the line. Such a loser…
I don’t buy that QE was going to let him and I don’t think he cared, in fact I’m guessing he was relieved. This man has done nothing of significance in his life. His whole rescue helicopter pilot job in Anglesey was also half assed and he went in whenever he wanted and remember that break he took to take some college class or something and we never heard a word about it again? Anyway, I just still can’t get over that this is the same guy that was on a people magazine cover that I saved when I was 15 because I thought he was so cute.
They would never tell us if Willy had a physical defect that made him unfit to serve. We’ve always wondered if that childhood head injury had more lasting repercussions than they let on. And yes Willy is said to fly helicopters but does he really? I always thought he always had a co-pilot making sure it stayed up in the air. Lizzie loved Andrew the most and he served.
Wasnt charles on a submarine or some deep sea boat? Willuamcouldve served but chose not to. Either cause he physical couldnt or the government didnt want it because the war was already unpopular.
I’ve really wanted to discuss this story but not sure where else to put it! I’m a veteran and I’ve always heard about that air base raid, because Marines died there and they were Marines that were in my MOS/job, and friends with people that I’ve worked with. I have attended an annual memorial for one of them. Reading Spare I finally put it together that they DIED because the rota just had to leak where Harry was?!?! Like for us the important lesson was that you never know when you may need your training and all that. But the danger was elevated because of the British media. I was so angry when I read that part of Spare.
Isabel, I’m so sorry that you lost people you knew. That was bad enough, but to have the cause be the rota? I can’t imagine how angry you are. I think the worse part is that the rota don’t care, so they had to up the hazard with all of their lies about Harry “boasting” about the number he killed. I wish the higherups in the Military would come down hard on the press. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you and Mary Pester for your service. Please know it’s greatly appreciated.
I’m surprised they don’t just say William had bone spurs.
LOL!
Oh yes, we must protect the heir at all costs, for the important role of hosting state dinners & photo ops. These people are ridiculous.
The British Sovereign is commander in chief of the UK armed forces. That will be William’s title when he ascends. Not a good look if his military service is viewed as lightweight as opposed to Harry’s.
Fails could have worked harder and gotten more than a commercial pilot’s license. I don’t know how you make that look good compared to Harry flying Apache helicopters.
I believe Willie is a coward.
He’s a coward, he’s selfish and he’s lazy. A triple threat.
And he demands that everyone around him be more cowardly and lazy in his selfishness.
the purpose of telling this story is to embiggen William..
The story failed to accomplish its purpose; it did not work..
I can see why he didn’t go and maybe no one wanted him in their unit? He would be a prime target for kidnapping or being searched out to kill. His presence would have put everyone in his unit in even more danger than they were already in. Killing the or kidnapping the heir is a bigger score than the spare. Harry had to move from unit to unit because when his location was found out he put his unit in danger.
I seriously doubt that Fails was “combat ready”, but there were certainly safe jobs and places that he could have been. The difference is that I doubt the rota would have leaked where he was. Harry was fair game.
He’d always be a target as the future King, whether he’s combat ready or not. Seriously, they’d always have to worry about him in a hot zone or not, who had time for that when they’re trying to stay alive. I know everyone here wants to go after William all the time but I think this is more about the other soldiers safety than his. I think that’s why he’s bitter regarding Harry’s service, easier to cover Harry, he’d just be a large pain in the butt.
It would be very easy for William to say “I’ll go, I’ll go” when he knew full well that the heir would never be sent into a war theatre.
Top marks to Kaiser for that top photo! I’m surprised that one ever got out into public.
Harry and William both talked about this publicly when they were in the military and Harry expands on it in Spare. In Spare Harry references that viral interview from like 2011 where they were on an Air Force base and William was talking down about him and calling him a lazy mess and Harry interestingly writes that while he was frustrated with his brother’s behavior at the time, in hindsight he felt it was William voicing his frustration and jealousy that Harry got to serve in combat and he didnt and Harry said he wished he would’ve realised that because he felt the work William did with the air ambulances was just as important and that he was proud of him.
It was yet another example of Harry showing William more grace in Spare than he probably should have but i think it’s also representative of the fact that Harry believes that everyone who served their country should be proud of their service even if they didnt see combat which is true. That said: at the end of the day only one of these 2 brothers has dedicated his life to serving veterans and their families and THAT is what will be remembered. The Firm can take away his uniform and the press can try to muddy him all they want but no one can take away what Harry has done with Invictus, Endeavour, etc from him. It is Harry’s life work and his legacy.
I believe it was Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who refused to allow William to go. Robert Lacey covered it in his book Battle of the Brothers.
William was keen to go because Harry did very well in the armed forces.
Harry discovered his way of gathering and processing information.
That ability made him confident and improved his critical thinking skills.
It was the right fit, Harry was on his way to be his best self…….
Because wank is an unprepared liability. People didn’t have time , man power and energy to cover wank behind because we all know he didn’t do all the training . He half-a it as usual.
Yep..
Yes..
This
Is it me, or does William look absolutely ridiculous in that uppity uniform as compared to the real soldiers surrounding him. He used to have so much of Diana’s looks, but now he looks like Charles and that is not good.
He looks like the epitome of superciliousness and arrogance. Either that or he’s smelling his own farts.
as a narcissist and being so competitive with Harry, I 10000% think William wanted to join some branch of the armed forces to be lauded as a war veteran. harry was the spare, so they didn’t care what he did. william, had to be kept back near QEII and Charles to continue this twisted dynasty. and even the war adjacent postings are never 100% risk free. all this shows is QEII was a figurehead, but her “advisors” ran the show.
Harry said, after his first tour in Afghanistan, that his brother was jealous of his military service. That was in 2008, so even back then his jealousy of Harry was evident. But even though Gordon Brown forbade him from doing active duty, he could have done any number of military jobs that didn’t require him to be on the front lines. But he didn’t, and everything he’s done since then has been half-a$$ed and only goes to show how lazy, stupid and entitled he is.
There’s something fundamentally wrong with William. He undoubtedly couldn’t cut it in the military. I suspect it’s more than cowardice or laziness. He probably has some serious issues. Everything will be done to protect his reputation. The Firm has hidden his deficiencies all his life – to protect the monarchy – and will continue to do so.
I commented before I read this…you re so correct! He could not function on a battlefield! He can barely function in society! For all they say about manners, they make me sick. yt grandmother taught me better manners by the time I was 6 than petty betty taught the lot!
Where was Philip in all of this. I would have thought he would demand William go. Can you imagine a king from days gone by saying ‘oh, my son is too precious to go to war’?
Philip was too busy with his lady friends!
@Mary Pester
Thank! You!
Both for your service and for your passion & conviction.
My best wishes to you as you continue to get well.
I think Will was discouraged from going because Harry was top of class of 20 people in his Apache training and I think Wills handlers would have had to have made up a “royal” role for William. When Will left in 2008 he started with the RAF the pilot thing Will just wants the optics of what it looks like while Harry was in combat with a 13 million dollar military grade hopper. Harry went to Afghanistan. Prince Harry served in the British Army for 10 years. He completed two tours of Afghanistan, one spanning 2007 to 2008 and the other from 2012 to 2013. He was about to get promoted and out rank William so Will or Charles or both leaked Harry’s location to the papers to pull him out and make him retire early. This is when Work-Shy Will and Kate Duchess Do-Little had already escaped to Norfolk and they wanted Harry to do all the work because “they were starting a family and Will was a pilot”. They endangered Harry and this entire battalion and ruined what would have been stellar military career so that Kate and Will can go on more vacations. This are the Cambridge’s this is Charles. Ruining his marriage or having Meg killer herself or someone killing Meg and Archie is of no consequence as long as Harry stays in line. They still would gladly serve him up to the tabloids at any given moment if it suits them and they see nothing wrong with it.
Tell me again Will how baffled you are that Harry is not saying he is coming to the Snubby?
Bone spurs? Sorry, Lizzie, you beat me to it. We both made the connection to a sniveling, cowardly, greedy, corrupt and immature American man-child who was finally indicted for a fraction of his crimes.
He’s a coward and thinks he is above such things. He likes the pageantry but probably not taking orders from anyone.
William reminds me of the Duke Windsor. It was claimed that the then Prince of Wales served in World War 1, however he did not. He was useless and so is William.
The queen knew he was a tool, just like his father. She did not need further embarrassment. She knew he could not hack TRUE military life! He’s a daisy!
I live outside of a MAJOR helicopter base is America. I am sick and tired of hearing how dumb Harry is! Does anyone know how complicated flying an Apache Attack Helicopter is? Put wee willie and chuckles in the cockpit and we shall see!
First, hadnt known before about William losing his gun at Sandhurst. I don’t blame the military for not wanting him, yikes. Second- is there consensus that William or charles were behind the rota leak on Harrys wartime location? That seems so bad I am not sure Harry would be so gentle as he was in his book…
Will looks worse for wear in that photo unshaven and all that
My god those photos are awful .
They look like they are of the Russian army .