# Does anyone \*care\* about Prince Harry? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986 "2005-01-16T05:29:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/41 "2005-01-17T14:30:07Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > At least read a post before criticizing it. I went out of my way to explain that it was different from a president who is both head of state and head of government. A head of state doesn’t run a country. They run ceremonies. And since you got all pissy, fuck you. Aha. Okay. I know this wasn’t in answer to me, but thanks for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/42 "2005-01-17T14:33:01Z")
**Liberal** , I did read it. You didn’t state they run ceremonies (the head of state) in that above post. You made it sound like they were the same thing, and to most Americans who wouldn’t know the difference if it came up and kicked their arse, thats how they’d take it. Your expecting people to know the difference from your vague arse I need to have a say in every thread post. Be clearer in what you say, bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/43 "2005-01-17T14:41:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Now _that_ might be interesting, especially if they had photos. You’re a sick, sick, sick person. So, what are you doing Friday night? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/44 "2005-01-17T14:43:13Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Aha. Okay. I know this wasn’t in answer to me, but thanks for the clarification. Thank you for thanking me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/45 "2005-01-17T14:45:44Z")
> [@paulberserker](#): > > **Liberal** , I did read it. You didn’t state they run ceremonies (the head of state) in that above post. You made it sound like they were the same thing, and to most Americans who wouldn’t know the difference if it came up and kicked their arse, thats how they’d take it. Your expecting people to know the difference from your vague arse I need to have a say in every thread post. > > Be clearer in what you say, bitch. I’m afraid that clarity won’t help a dumb fuck like yourself. At least, it didn’t this time — “a president **as opposed to a prime minister**. Parliamentary governments ordinarily **do not invest the same person with responsiblities both as head of government and head of state** ”. So kiss my ass, whore. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/46 "2005-01-17T14:51:26Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Those attributes would be ‘none’, but apparently it’s still ok to make unpleasant generalisations about people on the basis of their hair colour. > > Kind of filling in for the humour-impared in the place of “the Irish” or “the blacks”. Where would we be without a minority to be snide about, eh? :rolleyes: Staggering over reaction there. Top quality offenderati behaviour! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/47 "2005-01-17T14:51:30Z")
**Liberal** ’s post was quite clear. Most parlimentary democracies also have an elected president (Ireland, Austria, etc.), a king/queen (U.K., Japan, etc.), or some other sort of head of state (Canada’s governor-general). This person takes little to no action in the running of the government, instead mostly personifying the state on national holidays or at funerals. The U.S. system is relatively rare. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/48 "2005-01-17T14:55:26Z")
> [@paulberserker](#): > > The Royal family are certainly _not_ similar to a president. They make no decisions as to the running of the country in the same way your president would. They are token remnants of a monarchy we should have got rid of years ago, who are now a tourist attraction more than anything else. I believe the PM may have to make a cursory nod to the Queen over one or two issues for the sake of ceremony, but thats it. She has no say in it otherwise. > > At least find out what the fuck you’re talking about before making a post like that. You are wrong. Sorry Paul but he’s right. A lot of countries have a president who carry out the duties that the queen does in the UK. Ireland is one of them. Our head of state at the moment is President [Mary McAleese](http://www.irlgov.ie/aras/function/index.htm) . Our political leader is the Taoiseach(Prime Minister) who at the moment is Bertie Ahern. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/49 "2005-01-17T14:58:04Z")
Fair point, but we’re not talking about the fucking USA or Ireland are we? Wheres my WAAAAAAAmbulance? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/50 "2005-01-17T15:00:57Z")
> [@paulberserker](#): > > Fair point, but we’re not talking about the fucking USA or Ireland are we? > > Wheres my WAAAAAAAmbulance? If you lot had any sense, you’d have tossed the whole inbred lot of them into tumbrils and sent them off to the guillotine yoinks ago. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/51 "2005-01-17T15:09:40Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > If you lot had any sense, you’d have tossed the whole inbred lot of them into tumbrils and sent them off to the guillotine yoinks ago. Like it worked out so well for the French? Also this here George W Bush fellow; He wouldn’t be any kind of relation to that other George Bush fellow you had before would he? President George II. To be followed by President Clinton II? ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/52 "2005-01-17T15:12:33Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > If you lot had any sense, you’d have tossed the whole inbred lot of them into tumbrils and sent them off to the guillotine yoinks ago. If it was up to me, I would do, although rather than guillotines I’d be looking at less humane methods of dispatch. Giant Microwave ovens. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/53 "2005-01-17T15:16:48Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Like it worked out so well for the French? As we all know it’s too early to tell 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/54 "2005-01-17T18:07:53Z")
[Prince Harry could just move to North Minehead and change his name by deed poll to Mr Hilter.](http://arago4.tn.utwente.nl/stonedead/tv-series/sketches/fc-12/visitors-mr-hilter-north-minehead-by-election.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/55 "2005-01-17T19:06:45Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Like it worked out so well for the French? > > Also this here George W Bush fellow; He wouldn’t be any kind of relation to that other George Bush fellow you had before would he? > > President George II. > > To be followed by President Clinton II? Well, for some reason the American Republican party loves consistency above anything else, so since 1976 the ticket has always had the names “Bush” or “Dole” on them. Heck, I’ve no doubt many Americans would like to see Jeb Bush run in 2008, for no other reason than name recognition. My own country isn’t immune, with the occasional noise about encouraging Justin Trudeau into politics, following the path of his father. As I understand it, being famous counts for just as much as being competent, so if you or a close relative with the same name have a past election under your belt (even a losing one), the battle’s half-over. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/56 "2005-01-17T20:05:03Z")
So it appears that Harry got his mum’s brains in the package. It could be worse, he could have gotten his father’s looks as well. 1 for 2 isn’t that bad. Still I can’t quite believe that here it is, 2005, and there are still countries running around with a hereditary aristocracy. Considering that for most of human history the aristocrats behaved in a way exactly similar to Tony Soprano, it kind of makes me sick. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/57 "2005-01-18T10:35:46Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > It could be worse, he could have gotten his father’s looks as well. Some say he [has](http://theinternetforum.co.uk/rf/harry5.html) ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/58 "2005-01-18T13:38:49Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Still I can’t quite believe that here it is, 2005, and there are still countries running around with a hereditary aristocracy. Considering that for most of human history the aristocrats behaved in a way exactly similar to Tony Soprano, it kind of makes me sick. Which would be valid, if they did behave that way today. The thing is, we had our own Civil War back in the mid 1600s that pretty much sorted the situation out and delegated power (in principle) to the people. Don’t get me wrong, I see them as a waste of taxpayer’s money - the extent that what they bring in through tourism doesn’t even come close to offsetting the cost of the extended family - but they aren’t meglomaniac gangsters…_suppresses urge to mention a certain US leader_ ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/59 "2005-01-18T14:22:38Z")
> [@Martiju](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, I see them as a waste of taxpayer’s money - the extent that what they bring in through tourism doesn’t even come close to offsetting the cost of the extended family - …[/SIZE] My understanding is that the queen has turned the income from her considerable private property over to the government, more than offsetting the costs of the civil list. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986/60 "2005-01-18T17:34:32Z")
I think what pisses off a lot of British people is the behaviour of Harry and the type of company he keeps . Just read this article and you will see that there seems to be one law for these over privileged dim-wits and another one for the rest of us. > **[The Times & The Sunday Times](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/)** > > News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-care-about-prince-harry/284986.md?page=4)