...for October 2001
Ocotber 26, 2001 - - Princess Madeleine of Sweden is settling into a new phase of life since arriving in London three weeks ago. The princess, who shares a Chelsea home with a family friend, is in the UK trying to perfect her already excellent English and, she says “live like a normal girl.”
“I’ve always been very interested in languages, and I felt that I wanted to improve my English a little more,” says the princess in an interview with Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. “I’ve been (to England) a couple of times before and have always been comfortable... I’ve always wanted to go abroad, to get to know other cultures and try new things.”
Because of the intense interest in her arrival, Madeleine — the younger sister of Crown Princess Victoria — agreed to meet the press yesterday, speaking from the Swedish Embassy in London. And the blonde-haired blue-eyed royal appears to be a normal 19-year old when she greets reporters, dressed casually in a denim jacket and black trousers — only the fact that she must call a press conference to discuss her recent move gives her away. “I had really hoped for a private life in London... I want to speak with the media now, once and for all, so I can have peace and quiet later,” she says. “I’ve felt chased. It’s no fun to have people lying in wait for you at the door of your house.”
In the same interview, Madeleine confesses she doesn’t follow the newspaper reports about her in Sweden, but she does manage to hear rumours through the grapevine. “My friends call sometimes from home and say things like, ‘They’re saying over here that you were at a club until five in the morning, is that true?’,” she says. “And it’s not true most of the time.”
While spending time on her studies and enjoying life in London, Madeleine has also found time to develop her relationship with 19-year-old Pierre Ladow. According to the Swedish periodical Expressen, Madeleine and Pierre – spotted in an embrace last summer in the French Riviera – see each other frequently and seem to have a “fairly serious” relationship. It is said that Madeleine, who is interested in interior architecture, had considered relocating to Florence, Italy, to study design. However, “a boyfriend in London” prompted her to change her mind.
Though the two are often seen in the streets of London together, so far there has been no official acknowledgement of the romance. A Swedish palace spokesperson refused comment, while Pierre’s father, businessman Allan Ladow, also remained mum on the subject: “There isn’t really anything official, and that’s all I can say.”
Many royal watchers would be delighted to see the Swedish beauty, who was linked to PR consultant Matias Trotzig earlier this year, pair up with the equally striking Prince William, as she is only 11 days older than the future king. However, those hopeful for a royal match may be disappointed to discover that the two don’t even know each other. “He seems nice,” she says of the Prince. “I’ve never met him.”
And would the princess consider a permanent move abroad? She admits: “It’s difficult to say... but it’s clear Sweden is my home.”
October 25, 2001 - - On the eve of his arrival at Scotland's St. Andrews University, Britain's Prince William issued a warning: "People who try to take advantage of me and get a piece of me," he said in an official interview, "I spot it quickly and soon go off them." His regal wits were quickly tested. As the 19-year-old future king chatted with friends one night at a local bar, a passing coed grabbed a piece of princely posterior. William immediately shot the young woman a look of sharp disdain. Says a fourth-year student who was there: "He was not impressed."
Pickup strategies aside, the encounter illustrates the dilemma confronting William, 19, as he tries to balance his craving for Joe College anonymity with his rock star popularity. Acclimating to university life is tricky for most freshmen (called "freshers" in Britain); for an apprentice monarch it can be a royal pain. The issue for William is how best to quietly fit in when he so clearly stands out. "I'm sure it will be difficult," says Peter Archer, Britain's Press Association royals correspondent. "He remains a private young man and at times is extremely shy."
Wary too. "He is very conscious of being exploited and wants to avoid it," says Archer. "He thinks his mother is still being exploited, and a lot of his actions are based on what happened to Diana." It's hard to blame him. Within days of William's arrival at school, a film crew dispatched by his uncle Prince Edward was the first to violate the British press's unwritten agreement to keep journalists away from campus. "The last thing anyone expected," says royals author Brian Hoey, "is that the gentleman's agreement would be broken by his own family."
In the weeks since classes started on Sept. 24, the heir -- who goes by the name William Wales on campus and, unlike his father, Prince Charles, has discouraged others from addressing him as "Prince" or "Sir" -- has tried to live like any other freshman at the 590-year-old university. He sleeps in a dorm room and shops (albeit with his ever-present bodyguard) at the local Tesco's supermarket at the center of the town of St. Andrews (pop. 16,000). He attends lectures with as many as 200 other students. Early evenings are spent reading or hanging out with mates over a pint of beer (Britain's drinking age of 18 makes William legal) at the Westport, Ma Bells or other pubs near campus. Despite his low profile, the lines outside local hot spots like Broons bar snake down the block, thanks to a larger student body -- a result of William's enrollment. What's more, the regular Friday-night disco, put on by the Students Association and known as the Bop, is selling out by an unprecedented 4 p.m.
William hopes the novelty will soon wear off. "It will get easier as time goes on," he told Press Association reporter Sam Greenhill in September. "Everyone will get bored of me."
Those who don't may have more luck finding William in the college library than on the dance floor. "I saw him there in the second week," says a fellow student. "He must be a bit of a swot (nerd)." The prince is currently enrolled in three courses -- art history, social anthropology and one yet-to-be-announced subject (likely to be geography or international relations). He attends four art history lectures a week, mostly in Buchanan Hall, a concrete building just one minute from his residential hall. Once a week William will swap art history notes with other members of his tutorial group, made up of half a dozen students and a lecturer. "I think, quite honestly, he's just a normal student," says one St. Andrews art history instructor. "A normal student with a wonderful private art collection who might be able to say, 'Yes, I know that work. It's hanging in my grandmother's hall.' "
His new home is St. Salvator's Hall ("Sallies" to students), a coed dorm overlooking the iron-gray North Sea. His 15-ft.-by-15-ft. room (a bodyguard sleeps in adjoining quarters) "has very standard issue curtains, carpets," says a former resident. "It is rather drab." The same could be said of Sallies' dining hall. Gripes one third-year student: "I have friends who spend thousands of pounds each year eating out because they don't like the food." William, who stands to inherit a $1.45 billion fortune some day, is expected occasionally to do the same. "I'm not a party animal, despite what some people might think," he said in September. "But I like to go out sometimes like anyone else."
Even at the risk of attracting unwanted attention. At a private party earlier this year, a friend recalls watching a parade of young, aristocratic blondes asking him to dance. "He just wanted to retreat into a side table and chat to his friends," says this pal. Not that he's William the Wallflower. "Weekends at St. Andrews, I've been told, are not particularly vibrant," he told the Press Association. He intends to escape by driving to Newcastle and Edinburgh for big nights out. Alternatively, he could retreat to his grandmother's Balmoral estate, a two-hour drive northwest, where a cottage on the property is being restored for William and Harry to entertain in.
At St. Andrews, a Top 10 school in Britain that is less intimidating than Harvard but still very much on a par with an Ivy League institution, William's social life starts with his so-called "academic family," a group of older students who help guide their assigned first-year undergraduates. William's "mother" is 21-year-old Alice Drummond-Hay of Norwalk, Conn. (Ten percent of St. Andrews students are from the U.S.) Hay is the granddaughter of the 74-year-old Earl of Crawford and Balcarres (who manages the Queen Mother's household); her mother, Bettina, briefly dated Prince Charles in the 1970s. His "father" is Gus McMyn, 22, who, like William, is an Eton College alumnus. Most students team up with their academic parents on a random basis. The Palace denies any involvement, but it's likely William's were handpicked -- especially in light of the academic family's unofficial role (attention, Prince Charles: You may want to stop reading here). Says Nicky Cahill, 21, a third-year student: "They take it upon themselves to introduce you to the ways of the world -- or the way of life in St. Andrews, which involves partying, partying, partying, drinking, occasionally working, sleeping and drinking and partying a bit more."
The hedonism culminates in November during the annual "raisin weekend," originally named for the tradition of first-years giving their academic parents a half-pound of raisins as a thank-you gift. These days it's an alcohol-fueled bacchanal marked by egg and shaving-cream fights, amorous overtures and general debauchery. Says Cahill: "It is not known as St. Randy's for nothing."
As for less risqué extracurricular activities, "I'm going to keep my options open until I'm settled," William said in September. Nevertheless he has been practicing weekly with the university's water polo team, staying sharp at a sport he played at Eton. "He is a fast swimmer, has a good idea of tactics and is a good team player,"says an observer who has seen William slice through the team pool, located at nearby St. Leonards high school.
- The kindly Queen Mother has taken steps to secure the long-term financial future of Prince Harry. His great-granny has been making provision through various trusts and property to bridge a gap in wealth between Harry and his older brother William.
As a result of her generosity, a report by respected royal historian Philip Hall published last week in The Mail on Sunday shows that 17-year-old Prince Harry is worth £25 million- some £3 million more than his 19-year-old brother.
On the face of it, it is surprising that Harry’s worth exceeds William’s – but there’s a logical reason for it. William will, of course, one day be King and therefore inherit titles and land.
Harry’s financial status is not assured in the way that William’s has always been. His brother is set to become a billionaire upon inheriting the throne, just like his grandmother the Queen, but without the Queen Mother’s help, what would Harry have?
October 5, 2001 - - This story was
published in the The Sinner (Original Source):
According to this weekend's tabloids, Ardent TV's journeys round St. Andrews last week had a dirtier side. "£50 a head to lie about Wills!" screamed The News Of The World. The paper went on the moral rampage as it claimed students were pressed to tell, and even make up, outrageous stories about Prince William.
Their story can be found here, but what really happened last Wednesday at about 10, when Alan Paterson arranged a meal at his flat?
He invited round 9 other students including Steve Durrant (Ex-union president), James Arnold (Debating Board of Ten Member), John Jelly (Saint Hack), and Marco Biagi (Student Politician) who was kind enough to speak to us.
So, firstly were the students paid £50? Ummm, yes. Sort of. Ardent productions splashed out on a £50 Balaka take away. Between 10 students, that divides to half a curry and a naan bread each.
So we get to the filming, which only lasted 10 minutes. Alan Paterson talked for about half the time. Steve Durrant stayed silent. And the biggy - Were they asked to lie? No. They were told the film was to be broadcast in 6 months, and so they were asked to talk in general terms about the University instead of giving specific stories. They were never asked to lie, or to tell sensational stories. No scandalous stories passed the lips of any students. It was all quite bland, really.
The Crew tried to give the impression that they talked to "Ed" all the time, but Marco is not sure he believes them.
Sorry to dash all the scandal, however this raises an interesting point. Principal Brian Lang promised that any students giving "inappropriate information" to the press would be dealt with seriously. And that's fair enough, you have to agree.
You also have to agree that from the tabloid stories it seemed that all 10 students had been giving very "inappropriate information" to the press, and you might think that the University would have been knocking on the students doors to find out what really happened. Not so – none of the students have been contacted.
So what does this mean? The News of The World story quotes a "furious" Andrew Neil, Rector, calling the students "stupid". The Press office of the University has no comment. No students have been questioned by the university. Is this pointing to the University threatening to come down heavy handed on any student dishing dirt, but when it comes to the crunch failing to act – hoping they can get by on press coverage to scare other students into not doing the same?
Whatever the case, this and the events of last week reinforces the fact that students have to be careful when dealing with the press