Harry Krishnas

Off topic, I know, but, like doggy-do trodden into the carpet, I'm having difficulty in getting this shit out of my mind. So put this post down to nothing more than the need to vent and accept my apologies in advance:

"The charming prince, the family role models in line to the throne and a baby so cute he can thwart a republic - the bigger question among young Australians is why wouldn't you love the latest crop of royals. 'You've got Prince Harry serving in the armed forces, he's got the whole Captain Wales thing going on,' Sydney University student Gabrielle Hendry, 20, told The Weekend Australian. 'You've got Will and Kate, a really great symbol of family unity and a great marriage. And you've got lovely little baby Prince George, the republic slayer. The image they present for young people is really worthwhile and I think people can relate to this new breed of royals.' It's not just among the ladies that Harry's light shines brightest. The prince's knockabout nature has also hit a chord with the local gents. 'I like Harry, a lot of people like Harry,' Ms Hendry's friend Gareth Guest said. 'He makes a good impression with young Australians - he's a larrikin, he's a fun type of guy, he's young and he's in the armed forces and he's very dedicated to what he does and as a role model I think he's brilliant.' (Knockabout charm, adorable cuteness... what's not to like? Dennis Shanahan, The Australian, 23/5/15)

Notice that the Murdoch hack responsible for this doggy-do nowhere informs us that Hendry and Guest are members of the Australian Monarchist League. Instead, the reader is left with the mistaken impression that the student body, or at least part thereof, is similarly afflicted by Hendry and Guest's folie a deux.

Thank God then for this spot of real journalism in the same day's Fairfax press:

"Australian taxpayers will be billed an estimated $115,000 for Prince Harry's month-long army secondment - including $1000 for bottled water and Gatorade... If the Defence estimates prove accurate, taxpayers are getting off relatively easy this time. They were charged a whopping $150,000 for Prince Harry's two-night visit to Australia in 2013." (Prince Harry's Australian visit to cost $115,000, documents show, Adam Gartrell, Sydney Morning Herald, 23/5/15)