When Prince Harry was photographed naked in Las Vegas, he was declared a hero. When Kate was snapped topless sunbathing just three weeks later, she is a “fool” who “should have known better”.
Why is Harry celebrated, and Kate berated? It seems no matter how far society advances, sexist double standards prevail.
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Harry’s indiscretion is undoubtedly the greater. He was drunk, completely nude and in the company of naked women in the notorious Sin City.
It was a scandal that would leave even the sleaziest footballer red-faced, but Harry received nothing but support.
The Weekly’s website was flooded with messages telling us to leave Harry alone.
“Prince Harry is human and not afraid to show it. Leave him alone,” Lynn Olive wrote. “The media should be punished for invading his privacy.”
“Go Prince Harry you’re just trying to have a normal life,” Kim Forde added. “Being royal would be hard. He did all this in private once again the media have attacked his family.”
Carolyn Barbarich even went so far as to say: “King Harry. It’s got a nice ring to it.”
But when the Duchess of Cambridge is photographed relaxing by the swimming pool of a private estate with her husband, she is condemned.
At the time of writing, many of the messages posted on our site were highly-critical of Kate, branding her a “fool” who is unfit to be the future Queen of England.
Evo Lee wrote: “How could she be so foolish? Even I wouldn’t do that and I’m far from a paparazzi target.
“She should know better and the paper should too,” Angela Dutta wrote. “Both parties at fault. No sympathy here.”
One reader even brought Kate’s late mother-in-law Princess Diana into the fray, claiming William’s mum would never have behaved so badly.
“Kate married a royal and is the future queen of England she signed up for this life. Face facts: there is no privacy when you are a royal. Diana might have been a bit of basket case but we never saw her half-naked,” Social Gal wrote.
In May, Queen Elizabeth officially ended more than 400 years of sexism in succession by giving royal sons and daughters equal status.
Until now, the laws of primogeniture saw the throne pass to the eldest son, even if he had an older sister.
British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the amendment to the law, saying: “The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter, simply because he is a man just isn’t acceptable anymore.”
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I think it’s time the same attitude was applied across all areas of royalty. Harry and Kate should not be held to different standards because he is a man and she is a woman.
Both are adults and should be judged on their actions and not whether they have a Y chromosome.
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