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Why, in each generation, is one Windsor above reproach and another vilified?

You may love or loath Prince Harry and Meghan. Or sympathize with how they’ve been treated by feel they are being rather hypocritical by calling fowl on the media while capitalizing on their fame and airing the Windsor’s dirty laundry. Either way it is fascinating to see that the contrasting media portray of the two brothers, William as the saintly heir and Harry as the naughty spare has been going on in the British royal family for nearly 200 years. Going back to King George IV and Queen Victoria. In each era or generation some in the dynasty, usually the current monarch and heir apparent are portrayed by the media and history as a bastion of morally upright behavior, faithfulness to god, family and country and a glowing example of the values of the time. Meanwhile, another family member, either a spare to the throne or someone who is out of the succession for one reason or another, is labeled a cad, a playboy, morally corrupt, an abandoner of family and public duty, a criminal or even just an idiot. Creating this dichotomy of a saintly monarch or heir and their sinner sibling serves the firm well. As the monarchy only survives because of continued support from the public it is essential that those on the throne be loved and respected. Their good behavior is highly publicized while missteps are covered up, or downplayed. Meanwhile having someone in the family to point to as an example of bad behavior serves as a distraction and as a kind of “Well as least we don’t have them on the throne” pressure valve. The palace public relations machine and complicate media perpetuate these roles time and again. This is not to say that good or bad reputations are without substance. But in some cases media caricatures have become self-fulfilling prophecies. Let’s take a look back at the saints and sinners in each era of the British royal family. And examine if the saints were really as good and the sinners as bad as they have been portrayed.
Saints:
Queen Victoria
King George V
King George VI
Queen Elizabeth II
Charles III (sort of)
William, Prince of Wales
Prince George

Sinners:
King George IV
King Edward VII
Prince Albert Victor
King Edward VIII
Princess Margaret
Prince Andrew
Prince Harry
Prince Louis (Maybe?)

Correction: It was George V, not Edward VII whose doctor gave him a lethal injection.

Check out the History Tea Time Podcast:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7iW8gOI5wb5TNFAIhBd9Om?si=46aeeacd64214ac0
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-tea-time/id1619978406
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84Yzg1ZWU5MC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Music: Butterflies in Love by Sir. Cubworth

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