Fashion Police

[sebbie]

Harry should have followed the lead of Ryan Lochte and kept his Speedos on while partying...woulda saved a lot of grief and apprehension.

[PSDave]

Ryan is selling that pink suit on his website

[Byron]

He was partying in his boardies (and RL was fully clothed when racing him) - it was later in his hotel suite that he went commando in playing strip pool.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com...ad=12431423586

scroll down past the story for some great photos, love the back dive shot....

[Byron]

yes, good pic.

(the story raises the old question - often associated with rulings by strict soccer team coaches - "no sex before a match")

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

We had a similar rule on my university swim team... which made for some very filled out suits if the guy really needed it....

[sebbie]

ok it took a week for the British press to start publishing the nude photos of Harry that were everywhere on the Internet. Can anyone explain why the delay? Were they worried about some sort of libel lawsuit, or were they doing this somehow for the "good of the commonwealth" or because the Brits are so fond of the royal family? A delay like this would never happen in the case of an equally famous public figure in the US. If the cameras caught Dick Cheney in the nude, you can bet that the photos would be everywhere within the press without delay, not that anyone would actually want to see these ROFL

No royal has indicated that the photos were not of Harry or somehow contrived in photoshop. Silence suggests that the royal family also knows the photos are real.

The fascination with the nude photos of Harry probably stems from the following:

1. Harry is a really good looking guy and inherited a fortunate set of genes within the family.

2. Harry;s position as the "spare" means that everyone expects him to be less somber than the older brother, and at least somewhat more of a playboy, as its unlikely he will ever be KIng

3. The public likes to believe that important people somehow do not experience the same feelings and sensations down there that ordinary commoners do. In particular, that royal 25 y/o guys are less preoccupied with their genitalia than ordinary guys are. Of course this is not true and the photos provide striking evidence that Harry is just as fascinated with and fixated on his penis as any ordinary 25-year old who is not in the succession line to be KIng of England.

That Harry is seen by the public now as and ordinary guy with sexual equipment that leads him to do dumb things is not going to in any way, shape or form hurt his reputation with the public and in particular not with the part of the public that idolizes him. In fact they are feeling sorry that Harry is stuck having this uncomfortable talk with is dad involving royal demeanor, expectations for a prince, and maybe general birds and bees and perhaps even why an out-of-wedlock pregnancy wouldnt be that great for the family reputation. And what does much-loved Grandma think about all of this? Ahh Harry, I see your predicament, but you are still a hero.

Sebbie

[Byron]

I think I am quoting John Cleese if I say I have just read "a statement of the bleedin' obvious".

FACTS

"Libel Lawsuit":
The British Press is self-regulating and a warning was issued through the Press Complaints Commission that publication was likely to be an infringement of Harry's privacy (the location being his hotel suite on a private holiday).
A similar warning was given to the broadcasting media.

There was consensus in the British press as a whole NOT to publish but ONE
newspaper, owned by Richard Murdoch, did not conform on a the principle of public interest.
He, and other press owners/executives/reporters have recently undergone a long investigation by Lord Justice Leveson as regards illegal phone-tapping
and other activities as a means of procuring sensational newspaper stories.
The totally unacceptable invasion of individuals' privacy in this way is therefore a delicate subject in the public forum at the moment and restrictive legislation may result from the findings of the Judge's Inquiry.
That being so if I was an Editor I would not wish to add fuel to the fire.

Veracity of images:

Nobody has suggested any photoshopping activity that I am aware of - the truth of location and identity must be obvious to anyone who sees the carpet pattern on the suite's floor and the necklace (a present from Chelsey) of the subject.

YOUR POINTS

1. Harry is paradoxical as his discipline in military service is not questioned but his off-duty record includes ill-judged stunts such as wearing a Nazi uniform to a party. His ebullience has often been enjoyed by companions however (and their mischievous encouragement is perhaps another matter for discussion) and he has often been described as a gentleman by those who have met him.
He may be somewhat over-indulged in this respect as many empathise with his grief as a 12 years old boy who tragically lost his mother Diana.
That event is now 15 years in the past however and he will be a man of 28 in three weeks time (so is aged 27 and not 25 as stated).

2. The word is sombre and Wills is certainly not so. He has had his wild younger moments and may even envy his brother his freedom from responsibility in the line of accession (they are close but very competitive).
Wills sensibly guards his privacy with some intensity however and the most the paparazzi have achieved so far is snapping him with Kate in his boardies on a beach in the Seychelles. He has even been seen in a Speedo at water-polo
- how sensational !! (or not).
One only has to ask those he met in Canada (his visit with Kate after their marriage) to know that he much enjoys the company of others - but in a rather different scenario - and certainly not always formal.

3. Monarchists will often refer to the much-quoted Bagehot as to the loss of magic by daylight and they have a point if the institution is to survive as something to be respected.
"Much-loved Grandma" would I suspect not care a damn at one level as regards the antics of a grandson at some wild party venue where nobody got hurt (she is far more aware of what happens amongst "ordinary" people than many give her credit for).
She is however a person steeped in the tradition of public duty and is sensitive to feelings in the wider Commonwealth as well as at home.
As such she knows that standards of behaviour are expected to be set, not only by herself, but by those of close family connection. In that respect she will undoubtedly be saddened by having the side let down in this way.
She is realistic enough to know however that family history inevitably repeats itself and King Edward VII got away with so much because Facebook and Twitter et al did not exist at the time of his philanderings as Prince of Wales and later. The Monarchy also appreciated the silence of the British press of over seventy years ago when David's relationship with Wallis Simpson was published and known all over Europe.
The spectre of another Abdication no doubt still haunts the Palace advisers.

[Byron]

At the risk of Louis seeing this as an inappropriate history forum I should add that Walter Bagehot is oft-quoted from his reflections on the importance of preserving the charm and mystery of the monarchy, ie "We must not let in daylight upon magic".
He was a most interesting Victorian philosopher and author and very much connected with the USA.
Also a paradox in that he applauded dullness as a virtue but it would be hard to find a dull sentence in his writings.

I would recommend his work The English Constitution (1867) to Sebbie, where he explores contrasts between British and American government.

As regards post#11 "apprehension" does not go with "grief".
To be apprehensive is to be fearful - the last thing I would attribute to HRH Harry Wales.


Freudian apology on post ante:
Richard Murdoch was a much loved and long-deceased comedian.
RUPERT Murdoch is the Australian (now American) communications tycoon who owns newspapers (with the exception of News of the World which he promptly shut down earlier this year).

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

All this war of words... no wonder we had a revolution.

The guy got naked, got photographed, got published. What guy his age has not done the first and maybe the second. The famous ones get the third....

And no, none of us want to see Cheney (or even Biden, in fairness) that way...lol.