 |
Britain's Prince William with his father Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, at their home near Tetbury, southwest, England, Sept. 29. The spoke to the media prior to the prince taking a year off before starting St. Andrews University in Scotland in 2001. (AP/Dave Caulkin) |
By Audrey Woods
The Associated Press
September 29, 2000 3:22 p.m. CDT
LONDON (AP) -- Prince William shed his schoolboy shyness and faced the press as an adult today, revealing his plans and making clear his disapproval of a new book about Princess Diana by her most senior aide.
"Of course, Harry and I are both quite upset about it -- that our mother's trust has been betrayed and even now she is still being exploited," the 18-year-old William said at his first substantial question-and-answer session with the press.
He told reporters he didn't want to say any more about the book by Patrick Jephson, Diana's former private secretary, which depicts the late princess as manipulative, emotionally disturbed and occasionally cruel.
Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II have deplored the book's violation of confidentiality, warning that it would upset William and his 16-year-old brother Prince Harry.
Jephson told Press Association, the national news agency, today that he respected Prince William's comments and understood them.
"I am sure that when the whole book is read it will eventually be seen to be truthful and sympathetic to the memory of the late princess," he said.
It is no surprise that William disapproves of the book, but the fact that he would answer the question at all is a significant step.
He has never concealed his dislike of the press, and after his mother died in a 1997 car crash, pursued by photographers, he sometimes seemed almost to recoil in their presence.
But today, with his father Prince Charles nearby cracking an occasional joke in the familiar gardens of their Highgrove country estate, William seemed confident and forthright.
He thanked reporters for leaving him alone while he was at Eton, the private school his brother still attends.
"I was a bit anxious about how it was going to turn out," he said. "But, thanks to everyone, it really has been brilliant.
"The whole of Eton made a big difference, with everyone not trying to snap a picture every time I was walking down the street," he said. "And I hope this continues for Harry as well while he's there."
William, who is taking a year off to work and travel before starting his studies at St. Andrew's University in Scotland, has already been on a survival course in Belize.
He was on exercises with a British army regiment, "in the jungle, training with them and seeing what they do," he said.
From Belize he went to the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, part of Mauritius, with the Royal Geographical Society for an environmental research project.
He studied marine conservation, "learning how to sustain the reefs and the whole management of the sea around the fishing industry," he told reporters.
He next goes to Chile with an international expedition in remote parts of Patagonia where he will work with 110 other young volunteers on environmental and community projects.
William said he had raised $8,000 for the trip himself and has also raised money to finance a boy from a less-privileged background.
"I don't know him yet but I'll get to meet him while I'm out there," he said. "I organized a water polo match and got sponors -- basically did it that way," he said.
He said he wanted "to do something constructive" with his year off after school. "I thought this was a way of trying to help people out and meeting a whole range of people from other countries, and at the same time helping people in remote areas of Chile."
At the end of the session, the two princes turned and walked away from the cameras -- one tall, blond and denim-clad now towering over his neatly suited, slightly balding father.
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
|
|
Britain's Prince William met the press with his father, Prince Charles. William thanked the media for giving him space while he was a schoolboy at Eton. He is taking a year off before starting university. (Dave Caulkin/AP Photo) |
Paying His Own Way
The prince said he had raised $8,000 through a
sponsored water polo match to pay his own costs and to enable a disadvantaged
young person from the city of Newcastle in northeast England to join the
expedition.
He joked easily about
the possibility of financial help from his father: “He might have helped
slightly, but not very much.”
Projects in which William
will take part include improving local buildings and constructing walkways.
The prince, who scored an A grade in his geography A-level exams, will
also carry out surveys to assist with map-making in the area. He will take
part in tracking rare species of deer to provide valuable information for
nature conservationists, and will also go trekking in the snow-covered
hills of the region.
While he is in Chile,
the prince will keep in touch with his father via e-mail until he returns
home before Christmas.
The prince’s traveling
companion for part of the 10-week trip will be Mark Dyer, a former aide
to the Prince of Wales, who has become William’s close friend.
Dyer, 34, a former officer
in the Welsh Guards, has helped to organize William’s gap year.
William has just returned
from a survival course with the Welsh Guards in Belize, and the paradise
island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean, where he was involved in marine
conservation projects.
A Decline, Some Thanks
William plans to attend St. Andrews University
in Scotland next year, and has said he will pursue an art history degree.
He refused to be drawn out on any further plans.
“My plans aren’t quite
solid. I’m hugely disorganized, you see, so once I sort it out you’ll probably
find out,” he said.
However, he praised the
media for respecting his privacy while he was a schoolboy at Eton College,
which he left this year.
“It made a real big difference
with everyone not trying to sort of snap a picture every time I was walking
around the streets,” he said. “I hope it just continues for Harry as well
when he is there.”
ABCNEWS’ Richard Gizbert and Nathan Thomas in London, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Long-Thought-Out Decision
Sept. 29 — Royal watchers said Prince William had
been debating for the past week or so whether to issue a statement about
Patrick Jephson’s book.
Jephson, who worked for
Diana for more than seven years, said in Shadows of a Princess that the
royals treated her with indifference instead of reaching out to her.
The former private secretary
also depicted the princess as manipulative, emotionally disturbed and occasionally
cruel.
Earlier this month, Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Charles took the rare step of issuing a public
statement deploring the planned publication of Jephson’s book, which they
said would be upsetting for Diana’s sons and family.
Diana was killed in a
car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. Her marriage to Prince Charles ended
in divorce in 1996.
Jephson has defended
the book as a “truthful and balanced account” of his time with the princess.
He resigned the year before the fatal crash.
— From Wire Reports
|
|
The Prince of Wales appeared with William at Highgrove |
Prince William has admitted that he and his brother
have been upset by a new book which brands his mother a "scheming liar".
He told reporters at his first face-to-face media
interview: "Harry and I are both quite upset about it - that our mother's
trust has been betrayed and even now she is still being exploited."
I'm going to dig in and make the most of what I am doing out there
William was referring to the recent book by Diana's former private secretary, Patrick Jephson, which is critical of the Princess of Wales.
The 18-year-old's comments, at his father's Highgrove home, came as he announced he would be spending part of his gap year before university on a Raleigh expedition to southern Chile.
The prince will join a 10-week expedition to remote Patagonia, where he will work alongside 110 other young volunteers on environmental and community projects.
Queen 'deplores' book
Mr Jephson's book, Shadows of a Princess, has been criticised by other members of the Royal Family, including the Queen and the Prince of Wales who said they "deeply deplore" it.
The work is being serialisd in a Sunday newspaper.
The author responded to Prince William's comments with a statement saying: "I respect and understand (them).
"I am sure that when the whole book is read it will eventually be seen to be truthful and sympathetic to the memory of the late princess."
Raleigh expedition members get to grips with a mountain in Chile
Elaborating on his plans to travel before university, William told reporters: "I wanted to do something constructive with my gap year.
"I was talking with friends and I just liked the idea."
The prince organised a sponsored water polo match to finance his trip, and also raised enough to pay for another boy from a less privileged background to come along.
Asked if his father had chipped in, William admitted: "Father might have helped slightly."
But the Prince of Wales joked: "I chip in all the bloody time."
The young prince - who passed three A-levels with A, B and C grades - decided to take a year out before beginning a History of Art degree at St Andrew's University, Scotland.
In Chile he will take part in projects such as improving local buildings and constructing walkways.
He said he wanted to do something that would help people out and which involved "meeting a whole range of people from different countries".
The prince, who scored an A grade in his geography A-level, will also carry out surveys to assist with map-making in the area.
Survival training
He will also track rare species of deer to provide valuable information for nature conservationists.
"I'm going to dig in and make the most of what I am doing out there," said William.
He will be joined for part of the 10-week trip by the Prince of Wales' former aide Mark Dyer, who has become William's close friend.
William recently joined a conservation project on one of the Mauritian islands
Dyer, 34, a captain in the Welsh Guards, has helped to organise William's gap year.
William has travelled far afield since leaving Eton this summer.
He joined the Welsh Guards in August on a gruelling survival course in the jungle of Belize.
He learned to survive in the tropical forest of the former British colony, coping with natural hazards such as crocodiles, snakes, scorpions and spiders.
But William was surrounded by 140 troops and accompanied by police bodyguards as well as two SAS soldiers.
The Prince said that he was "looking forward to going to university next year," but admitted he had not yet decided what to do after his return from Chile.
He told reporters: "I am hugely disorganised, you see."
 |
Prince William has hit out at a new book which brands his mother a "scheming liar".
The teenage prince said: "Of course, Harry and I are both quite upset about it - that our mother's trust has been betrayed and even now she is still being exploited."
William was referring to a book by Patrick Jephson, the former private secretary of Diana, Princess of Wales, in which he criticises the princess.
The prince's remarks came at the end of his first face-to-face interview with journalists at Highgrove, the Prince of Wales's Gloucestershire home, conducted before he sets out on the next stage of his gap year to South America.
He is joining a Raleigh International expedition to Chile, where he will travel to some of the most remote parts of Patagonia .
Dressed in jeans and casual crew-neck fawn jumper, William seemed nervous when he faced the press, with his father alongside lending moral support.
William spoke of his recent trips to Belize and Mauritius, and revealed the next stage of his travels during a year off before going to university. He said. "I wanted to do something constructive for the gap year."
William said he had raised about £5,500 to pay for his trip to Chile by organising a sponsored water polo match. The money would also pay for a disadvantaged youngster to go on a Raleigh International expedition.
The Prince also revealed that he had been told of his A-level success while in the remote jungle of Belize, central America.
The Prince's travelling companion for part of the 10-week trip will be Mark Dyer, a former aide to the Prince of Wales, who has become William's close friend. Mr Dyer, 34, a former captain in the Welsh Guards, has helped to organise William's gap year.
Last updated: 13:12 Friday 29th September 2000.
Aside to above:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_71407.html?nav_src=newsIndexHeadline
Prince William to spend gap year in Chile
Prince William has revealed that he is to spend his gap year on an expedition to South America.
He is joining a Raleigh International expedition to Chile, where he will travel to some of the most remote parts of Patagonia .
He is to work alongside 110 other young volunteers on environmental and community projects, including improving local buildings and constructing walkways, carrying out surveys to assist with map-making, and tracking rare species of deer for conservation purposes.
William has raised the cash for the trip himself, and also raised enough to finance another boy from a less privileged background than his own.
The Prince's travelling companion for part of the 10-week trip will be Mark Dyer, a former aide to the Prince of Wales, who has become William's close friend. Mr Dyer, 34, a former captain in the Welsh Guards, has helped to organise William's gap year.
Last updated: 12:54 Friday 29th September 2000
 |
Prince William Calls Book Betrayal
Says He And Harry Are Upset Over Diana's Exploitation
LONDON, Updated 3:02 p.m. EDT September 29, 2000 -- In a rare question-and-answer session with reporters, Prince William has expressed his dismay over a new book about his mother.
The 18-year-old says he and his younger brother Harry are upset that Princess Diana "is still being exploited."
The book in question is "Shadows of a Princess," in which Diana's former private secretary portrays her as an emotionally troubled woman who manipulated people and was sometimes cruel.
As a child, it was clear that William didn't like media attention. Friday, he appeared at ease when he met with reporters and photographers outside Highgrove, his father's country estate in southwest England.
He also thanked reporters for leaving him alone while he was at private school.
William is taking a year off to work and travel before starting his studies at a university in Scotland.
Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All
rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.
Updated: Fri, Sep 29 02:59 PM EDT
By AUDREY WOODS, Associated Press Writer Related stories
LONDON (AP) - Prince William shed his schoolboy shyness and faced the press as an adult on Friday, revealing his plans and making clear his disapproval of a new book about Princess Diana by her most senior aide.
"Of course, Harry and I are both quite upset about it - that our mother's trust has been betrayed and even now she is still being exploited," the 18-year-old William said at his first substantial question-and-answer session with the press.
He told reporters he didn't want to say any more about the book by Patrick Jephson, Diana's former private secretary, which depicts the late princess as manipulative, emotionally disturbed and occasionally cruel.
Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II have deplored the book's violation of confidentiality, warning that it would upset William and his 16-year-old brother Prince Harry.
Jephson told Press Association, the national news agency, on Friday that he respected Prince William's comments and understood them.
"I am sure that when the whole book is read it will eventually be seen to be truthful and sympathetic to the memory of the late princess," he said.
It is no surprise that William disapproves of the book, but the fact that he would answer the question at all is a significant step.
He has never concealed his dislike of the press, and after his mother died in a 1997 car crash, pursued by photographers, he sometimes seemed almost to recoil in their presence.
But on Friday, with his father Prince Charles nearby cracking an occasional joke in the familiar gardens of their Highgrove country estate, William seemed confident and forthright.
He thanked reporters for leaving him alone while he was at Eton, the private school his brother still attends.
"I was a bit anxious about how it was going to turn out," he said. "But, thanks to everyone, it really has been brilliant.
"The whole of Eton made a big difference, with everyone not trying to snap a picture every time I was walking down the street," he said. "And I hope this continues for Harry as well while he's there."
William, who is taking a year off to work and travel before starting his studies at St. Andrew's University in Scotland, has already been on a survival course in Belize.
He was on exercises with a British army regiment, "in the jungle, training with them and seeing what they do," he said.
From Belize he went to the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, part of Mauritius, with the Royal Geographical Society for an environmental research project.
He studied marine conservation, "learning how to sustain the reefs and the whole management of the sea around the fishing industry," he told reporters.
He next goes to Chile with an international expedition in remote parts of Patagonia where he will work with 110 other young volunteers on environmental and community projects.
William said he had raised $8,000 for the trip himself and has also raised money to finance a boy from a less-privileged background.
"I don't know him yet but I'll get to meet him while I'm out there," he said. "I organized a water polo match and got sponors - basically did it that way," he said.
He said he wanted "to do something constructive" with his year off after school. "I thought this was a way of trying to help people out and meeting a whole range of people from other countries, and at the same time helping people in remote areas of Chile."
At the end of the session, the two princes turned
and walked away from the cameras - one tall, blond and denim-clad now towering
over his neatly suited, slightly balding father.
|
Says He And Harry Are Upset Over Diana's Exploitation
LONDON, Updated 3:02 p.m. EDT September 29, 2000 -- In a rare question-and-answer session with reporters, Prince William has expressed his dismay over a new book about his mother.
The 18-year-old says he and his younger brother Harry are upset that Princess Diana "is still being exploited."
The book in question is "Shadows of a Princess," in which Diana's former private secretary portrays her as an emotionally troubled woman who manipulated people and was sometimes cruel.
As a child, it was clear that William didn't like media attention. Friday, he appeared at ease when he met with reporters and photographers outside Highgrove, his father's country estate in southwest England.
He also thanked reporters for leaving him alone while he was at private school.
William is taking a year off to work and travel before starting his studies at a university in Scotland.
Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All
rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.
