Harry Windsor
What is going on?
Thu 17 January, 2002
By policy, I don't usually write about the antics of the British "royal" family. I'm all in favour of their abolition, and the less attention one pays to a discredited institution, the easier it is to ditch it.
However, the disclosures in Every Tabloid last Sunday set my mind racing. The facts, as we heard them, were that Harry, the second son of Charles and Diana Windsor, had been caught (shock!) drinking and (horror!) taking cannabis.
Never mind the fact that about 70% of British teenagers will drink alcohol before the legal age of drinking (18), and they will often drink to excess. Remember Ewan Blair, the Prime Minister's son, found passed out in Leicester Square in summer 2000? Neither did the rest of the press.
Never mind the fact that at least a quarter of British teens will take controlled substances. Some estimates suggest the figure could be as high as 70%. Clearly, Harry was engaging in activities that are common fare, perhaps even a rite of passage, amongst children of a certain age.
The over-reaction to a commonplace event was bad enough. The actions of Harry's father was, if anything, even worse. Charles clearly believed the myth that use of cannabis leads inexorably to use of harder drugs, such as heroin, speed, and cake. In an attempt to force Harry away from this inevitable course of events that hardly ever happens, Chuck sent Harry to a drugs rehabilitation clinic for a day. According to the royal machine, the whole episode is now Firmly In The Past.
I'm not disparaging the valuable work that the clinic does, but even with the best will in the world, they can't cure the underlying problems in a six hour visit. Harry has some clear emotional problems - which child that lost his mother at a young age, and lives his entire life in the hothouse of publicity wouldn't? These aren't problems that can be resolved in a single day.
Indeed, Chuck is going about this in entirely the wrong way. The change has to come from inside. It can't be imposed from outside. Harry has to want to change. And with all the best wishes in the world, Chuck can't force that process.
Worried about your drinking? (unofficial)
Concerned by something else?