Some married couples suffer a seven year itch. Now it would appear Kate
Middleton may be destined to suffer a seven year hitch in her apparent desire
to wed Prince William.
According to the Mail on Sunday’s Diary columnist, the 26-year-old prince may
be duty-bound to delay any plan to marry Kate due to his commitment to serve
with the Royal Air Force’s Search and Rescue Force.
Katie Nicholl reports a ‘senior source’ as saying in reference to an additional
six years’ RAF service to which the prince may be asked to commit: "William
will have to agree to an amortisation like everyone else if he passes his
training. Because of the huge cost of the programme, the RAF want to get their
money’s worth from anyone they sign up. William will be treated the same as any
other officer."
"There’s no point in the RAF investing in someone who goes through the
training and then stays for only a couple of years. Taxpayers would be up in
arms if they knew their money was going into training someone who wasn’t going
to commit to the RAF for a significant amount of time."
Another source tells the paper: "William still sees himself as very young and
he’s not in any hurry to get married. Next year was being seriously considered
for an engagement, but the chances are William will wait until he finishes his
training. That’s when he and Kate
will have a big decision to make."
"If he passes his training, then he has to commit to the RAF for six more
years. He will have a choice of placements, but he will be away from London for
much of the time and living in military accommodation."
Concludes the insider: "Kate
will ultimately have to decide not only if she’s happy to wait, but if she’s
happy to be a military wife. There’s no doubt William is putting his career
first. The last time he did that was when he was training with the Blues and
Royals, and when they split."
Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed by Clarence House
that the Harewood Park estate in Herefordshire which many viewed as a starter
home for William and Kate will be rented out on the open market – a further sign
that the long awaited engagement between the prince and his girlfriend will be
delayed due to his burgeoning RAF career.
It isn’t only Kate who will be waiting to see more of the prince.
With the upper echelons of the House of Windsor now consisting of increasingly aged figures – the Prince
of Wales will celebrate his 60th birthday next month – royal
watchers would likely agree that there is a desperate need for a new generation
of younger royals to also get to work meeting and greeting the general public
who turn out to show their support.
Comment: As I've said before the press acts as though RAF Officers aren't allowed to marry. It may well be a very good idea for H.R.H. Prince William and Miss Middleton to get a start to their married life slightly out of the glare of public duties. Certainly H.M. the Queen and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh have publicly stated how much they enjoyed their time as a young "naval couple" in Malta.
Name: Frances
Comment: Personally , I think this hook up with the RAF, was devised to help get William out of this relationship, as neatly as possible...AND at the same time, put him in a safe place and doing something constructive for the next few years. For Wm, when the RF "need" him for anything, he will always get his free time to comply.. I believe Kate should begin looking in a different area for a husband.. She is wasting time.. IMO, he wants out... He can't very well announce another public breakup, now can he? How stupid will look, to do that!!! I hope she gets the message!! William needs to get involved with other women...He has been with her too long!
Name: Lili
Comment: This is ludicrous. Either they will split within the next year, or they will marry. They will certainly NOT wait for another 7 years! By 2015, Catherine Middleton will be 33 and her ability to have childen will be diminishing. No one at the palace could possibly be advocating that the couple wait to marry for another 7 years.
If Prince William has any brains at all, he will consider the fact that his father married at 33, by which time the suitable women who were his peers were already married and unavailable. There's a school of thought claiming that Prince Charles should never have married at all -- that he wasn't suited to be a husband to anyone -- but another school of thought believes that one of the significant reasons that the marriage between Charles and Diana failed was the vast gap in age, education, and cultural experience. Charles and Diana were not cultural peers, and that mattered.
Perhaps William does not want to marry within the next two years, and that's his business. If he doesn't, he must set Middleton free. If he does, if she is the love of his life, then there's no reason at all why she can't be a military wife. I know of no RAF rule prohibiting William's marriage, and I must point out the Queen herself was a military wife on Malta before she succeeded to the throne. She is said to regard this period of her life with particular affection.
So, 7 years? It won't happen. I repeat: we'll see either a total split or a wedding within the next 18 months.
Name: sara
Comment: NO WAY is William ready to wed and Kate shouldn't be forced to wait that long. I see this relationship circling the drain....
Name: valmae
Comment: A seven year hitch - or even a smoke-screen? So... William might appear out of a cloud of smoke, in his helicopter, whisk his true love off to a wedding - followed by a long honeymoon on a remote British island, wherefrom he could rescue people from the swirling seas. What a wonderful life.
Name: exploora
Comment: I also thought they were scratching where it itches. As if it was any of our business. They are acting like there might not be a monarchy when it is their turn. There is nothing worse than wishing for the wrong thing, accept having low expectations.
Name: exploora
Comment: It is possible Wills is scared of getting married. If I was him I would be.
Name: Rachel
Comment: Since when can't people be married if they serve in the RAF? I think that this article is just another attempt to use William and Kate to sell papers.
Name: colleen
Comment: I think Kate may be better off without William to me he seems to be self centered and selfish. What if in those seven years he meets someone else, it seems to me that if he truly loved Kate he would find a way to have a career and be married. Eleven years which it would be is a long time to wait around.
Name: Emily Elizabeth Windsor-Cragg
Comment: QUOTE -- ...a desperate need for a new generation of younger royals to also get to work meeting and greeting the general public who turn out to show their support. --UNQUOTE.
Is this what is considered Royal "leadership"?
I thought leadership is modeling ethics, setting the pace, obtaining resource-supplies and helping stragglers along. Am I wrong?
