Prince William the Pretty

Prince William has been in the news quite a bit lately. He recently graduated from the RAF, earning some snazzy wings in the process, Kate Middleton was in attendance at this event, thus igniting engagement rumours to fever pitch. Then he landed a helicopter on the property belonging to Kate Middleton's parents. How romantic/foolish/wasteful of taxpayers money/[insert your opinion here]. While controversy swirls around him, one fact is completly undeniable.

The man looks good in a uniform.

It's true. I've never really been a fan of William's looks. Sure he was a cute baby, somewhat adorable toddler, and a perfect teen pinup at 14, but now at almost 26 he's practically losing his looks. He still bears a striking resemblance to his mother, but his appearance is clearly veering towards the Spencer side of the family, specifically the late Earl Spencer . Fortunately he never inherited his father's looks. Not to say the Windsors aren't a rather handsome family but they just don't age well....sorry, where was I?

Yes, William looks positively yummy in that uniform.

Seeing a picture of William and Kate walking together at the ceremony, Kate clearly has the best accessory in the room. We should all be that lucky. A lot of focus went into Kate's prescence, while people completely ignored William's uniform. Lest it be forgotten, this post will hopefully set things right.

William went for simplicity, wearing only his one lone medal. The emphasis was clearly on the wings - as it should be. The uniform fit perfectly, the blue shirt bringing out the color of his eyes, the shoes polished to gleaming perfection by an underpaid valet. When young, the Windsor men look good in uniform. Go past the age of 30 and things go downhill. If in doubt, look at Prince Andrew, Duke of York circa 1986 vs now. It's just not pretty. Past 30 their chests are weighed down by rows of unearned medals, clashing ribbons, and loops of gold braid useful for, if nothing else, making Tarzan like escapes.

Judging by the photo, William looks good in uniform, it suits him. Which is good because it goes with the job. Next he will go to the Navy and add yet another uniform to his closet; lovingly maintained by yet another unpaid valet. In future years he will slowly start to stoop under the weight of his decorations and we will look back at William circa 2008 and wistfully wonder what happened.

© Marilyn Braun 2008