How to Be A Prince (56 of 65)

How to Be A Prince

He was a great card player, he loved baccarat which was illegal at the time and one of the scandals he got into was over somebody cheating at cards.
There was a famous case in 1890 where one of his aristocratic cronies was caught cheating and there was a big scandal about it and there was a court case in which Edward had to go into the witness box.
The man caught cheating was Sir William Gordon Cummings and the case involved a cover up that went wrong.
Gordon Cummings sued his fellow card players, including Edward for slander, despite the fact that it was he who had organised the illegal gambling session Edward was treated leniently even sitting next to the judge.
His accuser lost his case and his reputation.
The press had a field day.
And it indicated a whole world of aristocratic corruption with the royalty at the pinnacle of it.

It 's not hard to imagine how today's press would treat William, if he ever got caught up in a scandal like this.
He needs to watch the company he keeps.
More than any Prince in history William is at the mercy of a world media ready to pounce on his slightest mistake.
How he behaves with the media as he gets older will be a crucial factor l think in his success as a future Prince of Wales and King.
Whatever we know about Prince William it's shaped by the way he's presented in the media.