Kate Middleton Should Count Herself Lucky, The Royal Life's A Pain
News is pouring in that Prince William, heir to the thrown of England and first son of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles, has reportedly split from long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton. Some speculate a change in lifestyle and too much time apart as the root cause for the young couple's relationship ending.
When Kate and William began their romance, it was while they were both attending school. This relatively leisure pace of life is rare for a royal and the two reportedly grew so close between their study obligations they were practically "living together." As they say, timing is everything, and that holds true for love as much as anything.
Upon graduating, Prince William, like most royal men joined the military and this new life has consumed a dramatic portion of his time, with him training to be an officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where his younger brother Harry's been training since 2005. The Prince then intends to spend the rest of his military time between the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, which is to help prepare him for his role as King at some point in the future. Prince William is a busy guy with his military life in Dorset and Kate's been busy working in London. This, plus perhaps the public pressure may have been too much for the couple who are probably too young to make life-long decisions. Prince William is 24 and Kate is 25.
Others point to elite British snobbery at the core of the breakup. Kate's family comes from new money, with her family building a mail-order business in party supplies. Unlike Lady Diane (before she became a Princess) Kate grew up with money, but not the exposure to the distinct and rigid set of etiquette expected of most upper-crust British families. According to a Scotsman.com article, class was issue just not necessarily in the Royal family, but rather from the friends and peers of Prince William. They were notorious for making fun of Kate's "commonness" and her mother's rather pedestrian early vocation as an airline stewardess.
Members of William's entourage were said to have complained that Kate was "too common", and to have quipped "Doors to 'Manual'", airline pilot-style, whenever she appeared.
The columnist for the Daily Mail, A.N. Wilson goes a step further in his take on Will's friends in the article:
Daily Mail columnist A.N. Wilson condemned "the unpleasant mockery of Kate Middleton by William's braying friends, an extraordinary snobbery still exists around the royals," he complained, saying that Kate's mother "has got more class than these sneering snobs."
Cheerio indeed! The article also cites Royal biographer Penny Junor, who also confirmed the assertion the elitism stemmed from the Prince's friends, not his family --Â and she does not feel Prince William's own snobbery alone would have caused the breakup:
"I don't think the royal family themselves are that snobbish. But I think William's friends certainly are. His polo-playing set are pretty snobbish."
Nice friends you got there Prince, your mother The Princess of the People, would NOT be proud. Continued on the next page
