Culture

Prince William "doing almost nothing" says James Whitaker

by Tina Kells | February 23, 2009 at 04:12 pm

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Well known royal watcher James Whitaker is making headlines in the UK after comments made to Channel 4's documentary program Dispatches in which he criticizes second in line to the British throne, Prince William, for "doing almost nothing."

The criticism was quickly rebuked by a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace who pointed out that Prince William has been on active duty serving as an officer in the British military since 2005.

William completed just 14 engagements in 2007, five of which were football or rugby matches. Prince Charles, carried out 84 appointments at William's age.
"I'm sorry, but as second in line of succession to the throne, he really should be doing more," Whitaker claimed.

A spokeswoman from St James's and Buckingham Palace -- which represent the two princes -- defended William, saying that the documentary was unbalanced and unfair.

"Prince William has been a full-time officer since 2005. During this time he has continued to carry out a number of public engagements and has also increased his charitable commitments," she said.

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Jarrett Martineau

at 16:25 on February 23rd, 2009

It must be hard to do almost nothing... to quote Seinfeld: “I am so busy doing nothing... that the idea of doing anything - which as you know, always leads to something - cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.”