The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

The British royal family is about to enter a situation that it last encountered a little more than a century ago.  A long-lived queen will remain on the throne for some time to come, a middle-aged Prince of Wales has settled into a life of luxurious routine, and his eldest son has reached adulthood.  Because of the relatively early deaths of the last three kings, there has not been an adult grandchild of a monarch since Queen Victoria�s death in 1901.  So perhaps, as Prince William graduates from college, we should take a brief look back at the young adulthood of the future Edward VII�s sons, the Dukes of Clarence and York. 

Edward and Alexandra, Prince and Princess of Wales, had two sons, known in the family as Eddy and Georgie.  Eddy, the Duke of Clarence, was the elder son and heir to the throne.  He was handsome and charming, but unfortunately he was also stupid, lazy, and bisexually promiscuous.  It was felt that his brother George, Duke of York, was a good influence on him, and so they were sent into the Navy together.  After the Navy and a failed experiment with university education, Eddy entered the Army.  In 1891 he became engaged to the very sensible Princess May of Teck, who was also intended to be a good influence.  When Eddy died suddenly of pneumonia at the age of 28, his death was viewed as in the best interest of the monarchy, although his family mourned him sincerely. 

After a decent interval, Prince George married his late brother�s fianc�e, Princess May, and they were a far more suitable couple than she and Eddy would have been.  Prince George, as Duke of York and Prince of Wales, and even as King, was very much a country person (although Queen Mary emphatically was not).  He loved Sandringham as he loved no where else.  At Sandringham he could pursue his rural interests to his heart�s content.  By far the most important of these was shooting.  Even the deferential society around him, during a period when shooting was a common hobby, were rather appalled by the vast numbers of birds he shot.  When he had to be indoors, he pursued his other great hobby, stamp collecting.  Meanwhile, George and May produced six children.  On the whole this was not the active public life that we have come to expect of adult heirs to the British throne. 

To return to the present day, Clarence House has recently announced Prince William�s plans for the next few months.  After a trip to New Zealand, he will get work experience in finance, estate management, and (presumably for fun) mountain rescue.  Then he will probably join his brother at Sandhurst and join the Army, but this is uncertain as yet.  Estate management will certainly be a useful skill for the prince when he inherits Sandringham and Balmoral.  Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales may wish to delegate some of the estate management of the Duchy of Cornwall to his son, particularly if the Queen begins to delegate more of her duties to her heir.