I’m neither staunch royalist nor born-again republican, nor Christian for that matter, but thank God for Prince Harry.
I’ve come to appreciate the Royals more in recent years, having been fairly nonchalant to their presence for, well, the rest of my life.
I fell as giddily as Cotswolds and cucumber sandwiches for the Royal Wedding. I was joyous to learn of the Queen’s insistence she perform the James Bond skit at the Olympics’ opening ceremony, even more encouraged at her purportedly lost capacity for self-deprecation, not to mention her dab hand with a rip-cord. And I downed a drink for every time a Jubilee commentator voraciously expressed that the rain would do little to “dampen our spirits”. Well, quite. That whiskey needed no added dampening whatsoever.
But these events, uplift though they might a broke, broken or breakdancing-to-breaking-point Britain (depending on your source of news) served a public mood that needed some respite. A temporary distraction while the proverbial happened. The pomp and ceremony that transiently – that is, every ten years – reminds us of our institutional history suddenly took hold in droves. We were handed something solid to lean on because, all of sudden, it had become omnipotent. Ubiquitous. Other big words. But pomp and ceremony it nevertheless remains.
My father once met the King of Sweden. He was walking through one of Stockholm’s underground car parks when out rolled from underneath a vehicle, oiled from head to toe and riding a flatbed, the King. Granted this was a posh car park in posh part of town, the car in question was a rare Rolls Royce, and it was neither the time nor place to wave flags, but there he stood as a normal guy asking what my dear Dad did for a living, normally. I bet he even cleans his own teeth.
Which brings me back to Prince Harry. I don’t know what the royals do when they’re not standing on ceremony in whatever capacity. I hope they’re fixing up battered up Rolls Royces. But despite all the whimsical showcasing of late I still think they sit for many hours at either end of a really long table.
Harry on the other hand is doing it right. That was no fairytale suitors’ ball and life isn’t Cinderella. If the crown prince of a nation – one able to shamelessly and successfully poke fun at itself on a global stage – isn’t getting drunk with giggling girls playing strip billiards in a Las Vegas hotel room, then what’s the point in anything? We might as well give up and go back to getting our jollies combining cucumber with white bread.
We wanted a celebration. Harry went out and had one, good on him. If I ended up footing any of that bill then I sure hope he left a tip.
And if you’d like to celebrate naked Harry-style in Las Vegas, then we’ve got some special offer winter travel deals at prices right for any budget:
Budget Option
Circus Circus Hotel & Casino
26th December 2012
7 nights from £929 per adult
5-star Options
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
26th December 2012
7 nights from £1089 per adult
Aria Resort & Casino
26th December 2012
7 nights from £1089 per adult
Splash-Out Option
Bellagio
26th December 2012
7 nights from £1574 per adult
Give one of our holiday experts a call on 0207 749 9926 today and see what kind of Las Vegas holidays we can tailor for you.
Strip billiards is an optional extra. At your discretion.
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