The Prince of Wales appeared with William at Highgrove
Prince William has admitted that he and his
brother have been upset by a new book which
brands his mother a "scheming liar".
He told reporters at his first face-to-face
media interview: "Harry and I are both quite
upset about it - that our mother's trust has
been betrayed and even now she is still being
exploited."
William was referring to
the recent book by
Diana's former private
secretary, Patrick
Jephson, which is
critical of the Princess
of Wales.
The 18-year-old's comments, at his father's
Highgrove home, came as he announced he
would be spending part of his gap year before
university on a Raleigh expedition to southern
Chile.
The prince will join a 10-week expedition to
remote Patagonia, where he will work alongside
110 other young volunteers on environmental
and community projects.
Queen 'deplores' book
Mr Jephson's book, Shadows of a Princess, has
been criticised by other members of the Royal
Family, including the Queen and the Prince of
Wales who said they "deeply deplore" it.
The work is being serialisd in a Sunday
newspaper.
The author responded to Prince William's
comments with a statement saying: "I respect
and understand (them).
"I am sure that when the whole book is read it
will eventually be seen to be truthful and
sympathetic to the memory of the late
princess."
Elaborating on his plans
to travel before
university, William told
reporters: "I wanted to
do something
constructive with my
gap year.
"I was talking with
friends and I just liked
the idea."
The prince organised a
sponsored water polo
match to finance his
trip, and also raised enough to pay for another
boy from a less privileged background to come
along.
Asked if his father had chipped in, William
admitted: "Father might have helped slightly."
But the Prince of Wales joked: "I chip in all the
bloody time."
The young prince - who passed three A-levels
with A, B and C grades - decided to take a
year out before beginning a History of Art
degree at St Andrew's University, Scotland.
In Chile he will take part in projects such as
improving local buildings and constructing
walkways.
He said he wanted to do something that would
help people out and which involved "meeting a
whole range of people from different
countries".
The prince, who scored an A grade in his
geography A-level, will also carry out surveys
to assist with map-making in the area.
Survival training
He will also track rare species of deer to
provide valuable information for nature
conservationists.
"I'm going to dig in and make the most of what
I am doing out there," said William.
He will be joined for part of the 10-week trip
by the Prince of Wales' former aide Mark Dyer,
who has become William's close friend.
Dyer, 34, a captain in
the Welsh Guards, has
helped to organise
William's gap year.
William has travelled far
afield since leaving
Eton this summer.
He joined the Welsh
Guards in August on a
gruelling survival
course in the jungle of
Belize.
He learned to survive in
the tropical forest of the former British colony,
coping with natural hazards such as crocodiles,
snakes, scorpions and spiders.
But William was surrounded by 140 troops and
accompanied by police bodyguards as well as
two SAS soldiers.
The Prince said that he was "looking forward to
going to university next year," but admitted he
had not yet decided what to do after his
return from Chile.
He told reporters: "I am hugely disorganised,
you see."
~*~
Queen's art collection to go on show(Electronic Telegraph)
By Tara Womersley
DETAILS of the first major art gallery to house the Royal Collection outside
Buckingham Palace, which will allow some of the Queens' greatest art works
to be shown for the first time, were unveiled yesterday.
The £3 million gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse will show drawings by
Old Masters currently stored at Windsor Castle. They include Michelangelo's
The Risen Christ and Leonardo's study for St James the Greater in the Last
Supper.
Many have been unsuitable for exhibitions as strict conditions are required to
prevent damage. The Queen's Gallery, Edinburgh, due to open in autumn
2002 to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, will have the latest technology to
monitor temperature and humidity.
The gallery, which will overlook the Scottish Parliament building, will alternate
exhibitions with the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which is
undergoing a £13 million refurbishment and has previously shown some of the
works kept at Windsor.
Conversions to the former Holyrood Free Church, built in 1850 by Queen
Victoria, and Duchess of Gordon's School in the most westerly corner of the
palace, will provide exhibition space.
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