Posted on 07/03/2010 7:28:30 PM PDT by naturalman1975
Prince William is battling to go to the Falkland Islands next year as an RAF search-and-rescue helicopter pilot.
William, 28, finishes his training in the autumn and is due to travel to the Falklands for eight weeks next summer.
But there is a huge question mark over whether Buckingham Palace will let him take up the post because Argentina is pressing its claim to the islands.
A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘He will try everything in his power to make sure he goes out there with the rest of RAF Valley in Anglesey.
‘He has Royal engagements and other official duties, and that has to be considered, but he is adamant that he is going.’
If he does, William would be following in the footsteps of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War.
Argentina is using every opportunity at international meetings to press its claim to the Falklands after British company Rockhopper revealed there are positive signs of oil in the waters around the South Atlantic islands.
Sources say this could be a reason why William would be held back from heading out to the Falklands with his colleagues from RAF Valley.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I’m just a Tory from the colonies.
No - at the time Prince Andrew was, himself, the “spare”.
Practice is that either the heir or the spare can be allowed to serve in combat situations - not both. The Prince of Wales was out of the Navy by 1982 anyway, but if he had still be in operational service, they’d have had to resolve the issue there.
Only takes a mistake or an accident to put the Royal in the hands of the Argentineans.
True.
I do actually know some of the Royals and am friends with a couple of them.
Leaving aside their particular constitutional role in the UK, they are patriots who believe in serving their country. And with a long tradition of doing so.
“Only takes a mistake or an accident to put the Royal in the hands of the Argentineans.”
Don’t be silly. They are crazy insane about the Falklands but they are not animals or stupid.
Where did Chuck serve in the Navy, anyways? The Cook Islands, or Montserrat, or something like that? LOL!
It would do them no good. There would be no negotiation for the Prince.
That is the policy of the British government, of the Royal Family itself, and Prince William has, as an adult, left the same instructions with regards to himself as most of the Royals - no negotiation under any circumstances.
The only thing that might have a chance of succeeding would be grabbing one of them as a child. That would be difficult to deal with.
Besides, he is slated to be the next King of England and his family will do whatever it takes to protect him.
Among other things he flew helicopters for British Commandos.
The Prince of Wales Naval service was genuine service. He was a line officer. Only for about five years, but it wasn’t some symbolic service.
If Argentina took a member of the British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand etc heir to the thone hostage there would be negotiations.
It would go like this:
“Give him back or you will be bombed into the stone-age.”
“Besides, he is slated to be the next King of England and his family will do whatever it takes to protect him.”
To be far more accurate:
The future King of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Well, yes - that type of negotiation would occur - and the Prince himself would start it.
Well excuuuuuuuse me! LOL! Guess I missed a few.
But wouldn’t being the King of England embrace all of these? After all the King of England would, in fact, be the King of the United Kingdom?
“Well excuuuuuuuse me! LOL! Guess I missed a few.
But wouldn’t being the King of England embrace all of these? After all the King of England would, in fact, be the King of the United Kingdom?”
No, England is not the same as the UK. The United Kingdom is the nation-state. England is a nation within the UK.
Scotland + England + Wales = Great Britain.
Great Britain + Northern Ireland = The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Plus, Canada, Australia etc are obviously all independent nations of the UK.
However, if he is the King of England, isn’t he automatically the King of the United Kingdom?
The error you are making is that there is no King or Queen of England as such.
The Scottish and English crowns merged in 1603.
In any case the British Monarchy is seperate from the rest. The current Queen is also the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. It is their Monarchy too and it is seperate from the British Monarchy.
In other words the UK could become a Republic tomorrow and the Canadian Monarchy would not change one iota.
In 1801, the separate title of King of Ireland was merged into a combined title of King of the United Kingdom and Ireland for George III, and in 1922, when Ireland was partitioned, George V became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and also separately King of Ireland (again). Precisely when Ireland ceased to be a Kingdom is complicated - but today the British Monarch is King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
He is not the King of England. Such a title no longer exists.
Your feedback clarifies many of my preconceptions about the position of the Royals. My education continues. Thanks.
Very interesting - I didn’t know all of this. It’s just as complicated as London’s subdivisions. :-)
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