The Princes Face The Pressures Of The Press

LONDON, England, U.K. (June 19, 2007) — More than 12 million people tuned in for Matt Lauer’s “Dateline NBC” interview with Princes William and Harry last night, and viewers learned exactly who William blames for the end of his high-profile relationship with Kate Middleton.“What I do in my private life is really between me and myself,” said William. “I don’t listen to newspapers…you just let it wash over you.”Matt asked if the Princes ever feel like screaming at the press when they get facts about their personal relationships wrong — and telling reporters what really happened.“Possibly,” said William, “but then you get down and to their level. [We] just let them write what they want to write, because at the end of the day, you can’t stop it.”Middleton, who reminded a lot of people of the late Princess Diana — right down to the constant paparazzi following — is proof that there’s no privacy when involved with William or Harry.“It’s just as hard for our friends as it is for us,” said Harry. “There’s a lot of baggage when it comes to us, trust me.”

Harry, who has been dating girlfriend Chelsy Davy for three years, shared his own struggles with having a relationship submerged in the royal fishbowl:“You always find yourselves hiding in some way, and doing something you dont want to be doing. Why? Because you just really don’t want to be photographed doing it, because of what will be written about it.”It’s people’s misrepresentations of the Princes that lead to their frequent distrust of others. “No matter what you read or what you see, you’re never going to get to know someone unless you meet them, and get to know them properly,” William remarked. “It goes through your mind every time you meet someone new, every time you go out and you meet someone, or whatever. It’s one thing I’m really quite guarded about, and Harry is as well.”“The press has given us images that suit them,” Harry added.But, when it comes down to it, William said that they just have to be themselves.“At the end of the day, none of us care about images,” he said. “We’re ourselves…what gets reported, and what people make up by their opinions and their assumptions is up to them. But we don’t try and go about doing things we wouldn’t normally do.”And if they weren’t Princes, Matt wondered, what would they be doing with their lives?“When I was younger, I wanted to be a policeman,” William confessed. “But I wouldn’t want to be that now!”And as for Harry? “He’d probably sit and play computer games, and drink beer,” joked William.“Thanks a lot,” Harry sarcastically replied. “No, I would probably live in Africa.”

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