Here are some of the articles I have collected!
On a 10-week charity volunteer expedition to southern Chile, Britain's Prince William had insisted on being treated as a "normal."
And he meant it. His trip has included teaching English in the village of Tortel, about 950 miles south of the capital Santiago, doing kitchen duty and scrubbing the bathroom to name just a few.
Photographs and footage of the young prince's Chilean adventures were released thanks to an arrangement by Buckingham Palace to ensure William's privacy was preserved while also satisfying media interest.
Not an institution to let go of banner headline value stories, the British media has predictably gone mad over the photographs.
"Wills Royal Flush," ran the front page headline in The Mirror. "Wills Cleans Throne" screamed The Sun with the cover shot of the young royal on all fours.
Sky television ran a special program on the trip several times throughout the day. "Can He Fix the Monarchy? Yes, He Can," declared the News of the World, which devoted its entire front page to a photo of William in a hard hat, helping to build a walkway in Chile.
"What has emerged from the expedition is a prince more at ease with his role than previously thought," the upscale Sunday Times said.
What the Royal Doctors Ordered
The down-to-earth pictures of the second-in-line to the British throne is just the sort of new image the royal family has been hoping for.
After facing murmurs of discontent over its handling of William's mother Princess Diana's death and numerous collapsing royal marriages, the only really royal moment this year has come from the oldest family member, the "Queen Mum" when she turned 100 this August.
Now it looks like it's time for a new generation to charm the British masses.
A fawning, royal-crazed public is not the tall, handsome 18-year-old's only fans. Rave reviews have also come his way from co-workers for a self-deprecating performance in Tortel.
These included a homeless teenager trying to kick drugs who teased the 18-year-old William and called him "Little Princess."
William apparently showed true leadership qualities according to the organizers of the Raleigh International trip and the prince was quick to adapt. "He's obviously arrived on the expedition with an excellent attitude. I think he approached it as if he was like anybody else," said project leader Malcolm Sutherland.
'I Am a Wombat'
The pool video released to the media also had footage of him struggling to draw a penguin and a wombat, the animal whose name he adopted during a game devised to teach 10- and 11-year-old students English.
"My name is Will. I am a wombat," he wrote on a board. The accompanying picture bore little resemblance to the burrowing Australian marsupial, a fact the prince willingly acknowledged.
His efforts at a penguin were no more successful. "I don't know how much of a penguin this is," he laughed.
William, whose father Prince Charles is heir to the throne, was stranded for five days on a Chilean beach where he was battered by freezing rain and relentless gales.
The tent he lived in while was stranded was by far the worst dwelling the young royal has had to inhabit, the prince says, though the leaky-roofed nursery where he sleeps on the floor with 15 others is hardly much of an improvement.
But it was not all plain sailing for the people's prince. One team leader explained how he had given the prince a ticking off for being lazy at the start of his adventure, and William recalled how tough it was to get used to cramped, communal conditions.
"You don't have any secrets. You share everything with everyone. I found it difficult to start with because I am a very private person. But I learned to deal with it," Prince William said. Prince William the 'Wombat' Charms on Survival Trip
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William, second in line to the throne, showed his down-to-earth side with the first live footage Sunday of his adventures in a remote corner of Chile where he is on a character-building expedition.
The tall, handsome 18-year-old won rave reviews from his co-workers in South America and the royalty-mad media at home for a self deprecating performance on a community project in the Chilean village of Tortel.
The film showed him struggling to draw a penguin and a wombat, the animal whose name he adopted during a game devised to teach 10- and 11-year-old students English.
``My name is Will. I am a wombat,'' he wrote on a board. The accompanying picture bore little resemblance to the burrowing Australian marsupial, a fact the prince willingly acknowledged.
His effort at a penguin was no more successful.
``I don't know how much of a penguin this is,'' he laughed.
William, whose father Prince Charles is heir to the throne, was one of 110 volunteers enjoying a trip to one of the world's most far-flung corners.
He was stranded for five days on a Chilean beach where he was battered by freezing rain and relentless gales, and in far-off Patagonia, William tackled a fire when a freak gust of wind ignited a camp shelter.
He kayaked in ocean fjords, tracked rare deer through the wilderness, taught village children English, slept rough -- and loved every minute of it.
Footage Released By Buckingham Palace
Stills and video of the camera-shy William were released on Sunday in a pool report from Britain's Press Association news agency. It was arranged by Buckingham Palace to ensure William's privacy was preserved while also satisfying media interest.
Predictably, the media went mad over the photographs, splashing them across the front page of newspapers. Sky television ran a special program on the trip several times throughout the day.
``Can he fix the monarchy? Yes, He Can,'' declared the News of the World, which devoted its entire front page to a photo of William in a hard hat, helping to build a walkway in Chile.
``What has emerged from the expedition is a prince more at ease with his role than previously thought,'' the upmarket Sunday Times said.
William also won top marks from his fellow volunteers. They
included a homeless teen-ager trying to kick drugs who teased
the 18-year-old William and called him ``Little Princess.''
But it was not all plain sailing. One team leader explained
how he had given the prince a ticking off for being lazy at the
start of his adventure, and William recalled how tough it was
to get used to cramped, communal conditions. Recalling the time when he and 15 other volunteers were
crammed together like sardines on the cold floor of a drab old
nursery classroom, he said: ``You don't have any secrets. ``You share everything with everyone. I found it difficult
to start with because I am a very private person. But I learned
to deal with it.'' Remote Village He loved life in the remote village of Tortel, which has no
cars, no roads and can only be reached by plane or boat. The village is flanked by the snow-capped Andes on one side
and Pacific Ocean fjords on the other side. The settlement of
just 350 people clings to the slope of a tree-covered hill at
the mouth of the River Baker. ``The air's really clean. Being next to the sea all the
time, the scenery, the people. There is so much to love about
Chile, there really is. It is an amazing place,'' the prince
said. William took the trip before he starts at St Andrew's
University in Scotland. At the start, his group was marooned on
a beach for five days with their kayaks. ``We couldn't get off because of the weather,'' William told
Press Association reporter Sam Greenhill. ``There was a howling
wind. I think force four or five and the waves were too big for
the kayaks because we hadn't done enough practice. He was shown carrying and chopping logs, hanging out his
clothes to dry, eating meals from a battered mess tin and
joking with young pupils.
Prince William Marooned on Chilean Beach Trip
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William was stranded for
five days on a remote Chilean beach where he was battered by
freezing rain and relentless gales. In far-flung Patagonia, he tackled a fire when a freak gust
of wind ignited a camp shelter. He kayaked in ocean fjords, tracked rare deer through the
wilderness, taught village children English, slept rough -- and
loved every minute of it. William, whose father Prince Charles is heir to the throne,
was one of 110 volunteers enjoying a character-building
expedition to one of the world's loveliest and most remote
corners. Details of his trip were released on Sunday in a pool report
from Britain's Press Association news agency. It was arranged by
Buckingham Palace to ensure that William's privacy was preserved
but media interest satisfied. William won top marks from his fellow volunteers. They
included a homeless teenager trying to kick drugs who teased the
18-year-old William and called him ``Little Princess.'' William showed true leadership qualities according to the
organizers of the Raleigh International trip and the prince was
quick to adapt. Recalling the time when he and 15 other volunteers were
crammed together like sardines on the cold floor of a drab old
nursery classroom, William said: ``You don't have any secrets. ``You share everything with everyone. I found it difficult to
start with because I am a very private person. But I learned to
deal with it.'' Remote Village He loved life in the remote village of Tortel, which has no
cars, no roads and can only be reached by plane or boat. The village is flanked by the snow-capped Andes on one side
and Pacific Ocean fjords on the other side. The settlement of
just 350 people clings to the slope of a tree-covered hill at
the mouth of the River Baker.
He loved the village for its lack of pollution. ``The air's
really clean. Being next to the sea all the time, the scenery,
the people. There is so much to love about Chile, there really
is. It is an amazing place.'' Tortel's Mayor Jose Vera Contreras was fiercely proud of his
star guest: ``Tortel is one of the most isolated villages in
Chile and it is most beautiful and magical. We are very glad
that William has seen it.'' Adventures abounded for William, who took the trip before he
starts at St Andrew's University in Scotland. At the start of his trip, his group was marooned on a beach
for five days with their kayaks. ``We couldn't get off because of the weather,'' William told
Press Association reporter Sam Greenhill. ``There was a howling
wind. I think force four or five and the waves were too big for
the kayaks because we hadn't done enough practice. ``You go to bed with wet clothes,'' he said. ``If we'd stayed
there any longer, I think we would have been flooded.'' ``That was the lowest point. I don't think I have ever been
as low as that. Everyone was thinking to themselves 'Why? Why
did I choose to come here?' But we got through it and it was
good.'' In the Tamango National Reserve wildlife park, he and other
volunteers successfully tackled a fire when a freak gust of wind
ignited a camp shelter. William used an axe to stop the fire
spreading through the beams. They were tracking the rare and endangered huemul deer. One
came thundering straight through their camp being chased by
dogs. Raleigh's project manager Marie Wright said of William: ``He
is really laid-back and easy-going. He gets on well with
absolutely everybody whatever their backgrounds.'' One fellow volunteer, a 17-year-old homeless boy who said he
came on the expedition to escape a life of drugs, said:
''Everyone gets on really well and William fits right in. I take
the mickey (tease) out of him all the time and call him 'Little
Princess.'''
