Articles
Young Princes have
fun with heir apparent
Prince
William puts on a Cup winning display
Flash
Harry puts the skids under dawdling dad
Princes
relax on the slopes (BBC News)
Impish
Prince takes to slopes (Evening Standard)
ASTON Villa's Wembley prospects are hardly the stuff of history books buthistory
of a sort was made yesterday when Prince William gave his first liveinterview
to the world's press and declared: "Villa are up for the Cup."
The Prince of Wales and his sons had agreed to a second and final photo
callthe Swiss resort of Klosters. What emerged was not just a memorable
pictureof father and sons in the Alps but a portrait of a self-assured
young King-to-be.
Prince William has clearly accepted that these occasions are a fact of
royal life. Indeed, such is his new-found indifference to the media,
that lunch-time diners were surprised to see him walk across a pizzeria
to chat with a television crew who were editing their despatch at
one of the tables.
A posse of cameramen and reporters had gathered in sunshine on the slopes
of the Madrisa mountain for the rendezvous at a mountain restaurant.
Clearly in good spirits, the three Princes swept alongside on their
skis and obediently removed their hats and sunglasses for the photographers.
"How nice and picturesque you look in the sun," Prince Charles joked as
he squinted at the unlovely phalanx before him. Entreaties to look
this way and that rang forth in a variety of languages and Prince
William, now the hottest property on the international photographic
market, was the prime target.
"William, one for zee French, pleez!" yelled one of a cluster of Parisian
paparazzi. "Yeah, sure," he replied with a wry smile and promptly turned
the other way, to
guffaws from the
British contingent. Another French photographer was alarmed that
the Prince's ski poles were obscuring his face. "Tirez les batons!" hepleaded.
"I understood that one," said the Prince, duly moving the poles.
The shyness of photo calls past had vanished as both boys threw an armaround
Dad, Prince Harry playfully ruffling his hair. The Prince of Wales's pridein
his strapping sons, both now taller than him, shone through but did not
reciprocate. "My arms aren't long enough to get round," he said. For
teenage boys, such displays of affection can only go so far. Asked
to put an arm around each other, they recoiled in mock horror.
And then the questions began. So, how did Prince William feel about theprospect
of turning 18 in June? "It will be interesting," he said. No problemsthere.
Along came a googly. What did he think of the Klosters nightlife? After
revelations of his prowess at karaoke and a reported sighting of the
Prince in a club in the resort, the question was loaded.
"Wouldn't know, wouldn't know," Prince William replied with a grin which
suggested that he had just delivered his first public fib. "Don't answer
questions like that," his father chimed in. So, what did he think of
Aston Villa's victory in last weekend's FA Cup semi-final? A keen Villa
fan, the Prince had attended the game and chatted to the players.
"It was a good result," he said. "The FA Cup is definitely secure at Villa."
Thisprompted raucous protests from the British element. "Arsenal are number
one!"yelled a photographer, to the delight of Arsenal-mad Prince Harry,
15. The Swiss media scratched their heads and asked the nearest Brit which
villa the
Princes were on about.
Quite why Prince William is a fan of the Birmingham club has been baffling
the press for some time. "Go on, tell us why you support Villa," urged
a reporter. "I knew someone was going to ask that," was the reply,
leaving this great sporting enigma unsolved. With that, the royal party
bade farewell and resumed their skiing at a furious pace. What seems beyond
doubt, however, is that neither A-levels nor wild horses will keep
Prince William away from Wembley on May 20.
PRINCE HARRY is growing fast, in self-confidence as well as height - at
15 he is as tall as his father. Yesterday, in Klosters, he was keen to
get the official business out of the way. Clearly impatient for action,
he tugged at his father's ski suit and shouted "Oi" into his ear to hurry
him along.
In
a loose fitting black cagoule, partly unzipped to reveal layers of fleece
and baggy olive snow boarding pants, Prince Harry, who is a much more
enthusiastic skier
than 17-year-old Prince William, also upstaged his older brother in the
fashion stakes. His trousers - Titanium, top of the range and costing approximately
£150 - were similar to William's, but Harry's were baggier, slung
low on his hips and therefore deemed to be cooler by the Klosters fashion
police.
On
goggles, they were almost even. William's were Oakley, Harry's Scott and
both cost between
£50 and £100. But a closer inspection revealed that Harry's
lenses were rose tinted
and therefore groovier.
Violet Westenholz
The Princes, who arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday, posed with their
father outside the ski lift station at the foot of the Gotshna Mountain.
The official photo shoot, where the princes were to show off their skiing,
was postponed until
today because of sleet, heavy rain and fog.
The 50 photographers present were not the only ones to scrutinize the brothers'
kit, which included Dynamic "carver" skis costing between £250 and
£400. They were
joined by two female friends - Violet von Westenholz, 16, and her 13-year-old
sister, Victoria. The Misses von Westenholz are the daughters of Baron
Piers von Westenholz, a former Olympic skier and friend of the Prince of
Wales, and have been invited to ski with the Royal Family.
The dark-haired sisters appeared to be completely unfazed by their royal
company yesterday, as Victoria laughed and joked with Tiggy Pettifer (née
Legge-Bourke), the former royal nanny. A royal aide insisted that the young
Princes and the Von Westenholz sisters were "just friends" and primarily
in the Swiss Alps to enjoy the skiing.
Princes William and Harry enjoyed a relaxed photo call with their father
as they took a break during their skiing holiday in theSwiss Alps.Laughing
and joking for the cameras, the pair threw their arms around the Prince
of Wales, embracing him in a show of family
affection.The
royal trio posed for photos before about 60 journalists during a coffee
break on the Madrisa Mountain, near Klosters. The photo
call was one of a series of official sessions which are arranged in return
for privacy during the rest of their stay. Asked
to reciprocate the embrace, Prince Charles joked: "My arms aren't long
enough." Prince
Harry then ruffled his father's hair playfully and patted his bald patch.
When
asked about the skiing, William, 17, who has brought three friends with
him on the holiday, replied: "It's good fun."
He also responded briefly to questions about the holiday nightlife and
his forthcoming 18th birthday. When
quizzed about the performance of his favourite football club, Aston Villa,
in the recent FA Cup semi-final, he predicted the
team would continue its success. "It
was a good result. The FA Cup is definitely secure," he said.
Harry supports Arsenal, and when it was pointed out that his team were
doing well, William replied: "Yeah, whatever." This
year's royal skiing trip is being held later than usual because millennium
celebrations meant a New Year trip was impractical.Asked
if he would return at the same time next year, Charles replied: "I have
no idea. You never know."
But the appeal of empty slopes at the end of the season were clearly appealing."That
is nice. You don't bump into so many people," he said.On Thursday the princes
posed for photos at the bottom of the slopes, with Prince Harry urging
his father and brother to hurry up
and ski with an impatient "Oi". The
royal party, which includes the princes' friends Charles and Patti Palmer-Tomkinson,
their daughter Santa and former royal nanny
Tiggy Legge-Bourke, are to stay at the resort until Monday.
With a shout of "Oi" and a sharp tug on the sleeve of his father's ski
suit, Prince Harry took to the slopes today. Harry, clearly in impish mood,
grinned at photographers assembled to picture them as they began their
day's skiing. Prince
Charles, accompanied by Harry and Prince William, had agreed to pose briefly
outside the cable car station at Klosters after
the original photo call on the mountain was abandoned because of poor visibility.Carrying
their skis, the trio climbed out of their four wheel drive vehicles to
the familiar chorus from photographers urging them to
pose.
William, notoriously camera shy, looked embarrassed but Harry played up
to the cameras and after several seconds pulled at his
father's familiar grey ski suit and then turned to walk up the steps to
the cable car. When
he realized his father and brother were not following he shouted: "Oi!
Come on." The
royal trio hired their skis on arrival in Klosters. All are using Dynamic
carving skis, now widely used because of the benefitsin turning.The ski
party includes three Eton school friends and Prince Charles's friend Piers
von Westenholz and his daughters Victoria, 14,
and Violet, 16.
Earlier, photographers had been left stranded after making their way up
the mountain at first light to be in place for when theroyal party skied
into view for the grudgingly given "photo opportunity".There was just one
problem: no view. Rain, sleet, fog and almost zero visibility resulted
in the photo call being abandoned today.
After a series of mobile phone calls between the royal party at breakfast
in their hotel, various aides and minders, and the photographers
up the mountain, the whole thing was postponed. Asked
later about the ski conditions Charles had grimaced and said: "It's not
looking too good." The lack of visibility and a mixture
of rain and sleet made it a dismal day. They will be hoping for better
snow higher up the mountain. Early
spring snow has turned to rain and sleet at Klosters. Yesterday Charles
and his sons had to endure "white-out" conditions at
the top of the mountain and a downpour at the bottom.Although the pistes
are still in generally good condition, particularly higher up, Charles
may be regretting leaving his holiday so late
in the season. Yesterday was their first day and William, 17, who has preferred
shooting to skiing in recent years, used it to get
his "ski legs" back and catch up with his 15-year-old brother - like his
father, an accomplished skier. To
say the photo call ritual is reluctantly undertaken by the Prince would
be an understatement. His private holiday has alwaysattracted the undesirable
attention of the paparazzi and the presence of his two sons, and in particular
the dashing William, has
served to increase
media interest. In
recent years Charles has agreed to a pre planned and heavily posed photo
call in return for being left alone for the remainderof his holiday.
Last night his deputy press secretary, Colleen Harris, told photographers:
"I hope you will all leave them alone to enjoy an intrusion
free family holiday. They're looking forward to a nice, peaceful break."
The message was reinforced by resort tourism director Dennis Schneider,
who welcomed reporters, photographers and camera
crews but said they risked becoming unpopular if they tried to follow the
Prince. "We
greatly value him coming to Klosters each year and we wish him to have
time and space to enjoy himself."
