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Prince William takes centre of royal stage
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-18 09:27

Prince William is to carry out his first solo public engagements on behalf of the Queen, bringing to an end his time as a reluctant young royal.


Britain's Prince William tumbles from his horse while playing against his brother Prince Harry, centre, in a charity polo match at Birdlip, England, Saturday March 12, 2005. [Reuters]

William, who will be 23 next month, will take part in wreath-laying ceremonies in Auckland and Wellington in July to honour the 10,000 New Zealanders who died in World War II.

With the Queen celebrating her 80th birthday next year, duty now calls for William, who will be expected to shoulder an increasing number of royal engagements.

The Queen agreed that William, who leaves St Andrews University in Scotland next month, should perform his first engagements in a country which Helen Clark, New Zealand's Prime Minister, predicted in March would "inevitably" become a republic.

A Clarence House courtier said: "Prince William will be performing his first solo engagements with the full blessing of the Queen and the Prince of Wales. It is an important opportunity to recognize and honour the important war effort of the Commonwealth. William is proud to be representing the Queen at events to mark the end of World War II."

William Arthur Philip Louis Wales will be guest of the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour of New Zealand. The Lions' public relations adviser is Alastair Campbell, the former communications director at Downing Street.

The announcement from Clarence House comes only days after Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, 44, a former Special Air Service (SAS) officer, took up his post as private secretary to William and his brother Harry.

Lowther-Pinkerton, the first paid official minder to the princes, was one of the most highly rated officers in the SAS. He had been pencilled in as a potential commanding officer of the elite regiment and future Director Special Forces. The important task in the years ahead for Lowther-Pinkerton will be to help William to make the move from a semi-private life to centre stage in the House of Windsor.

By the time he was 23, Prince Charles was a veteran of the royal circuit. He was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarvon Castle when he was 21. He carried out his first overseas solo engagement at the age of 19 representing the Queen in Australia at the funeral of Harold Holt, a former Prime Minister. By contrast William and Harry have carried out no solo engagements and while they were in full-time education were protected to a degree from media intrusion under the terms of a voluntary arrangement with the Press Complaints Commission.



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