Prince William Impact On Society

Prince William’s Impact on Global Development

In today’s society, the exposure of the media is seen on a global scale (Goodman 2011, Barnes 2011: 72). Celebrity aid has been on the rise since the 2000s and remains to play a dominant role in influencing significant world issues such as oppression, poverty, and misery (Brockington, 2014). Holding a majority of power over the public, celebrities are either idolized as positive role models or ridiculed as negative contributors in terms of their dedication towards society (Dieter 2008, Kumar 2008: 260). In comparison to other celebrities, Prince William has a unique role in global development for many reasons. Besides possessing a mandate for humanitarian support, Prince William’s actions root
from his personal interests that include environmental causes and philanthropic needs. As the royal heir to the British throne, Prince William fulfills his obligations of catering to the social and environmental needs of society, making him a suitable and legendary humanitarian figure for our present and future generation.

William Arthur Philip Louis was born on June 21st, 1982 in London, England to Diana, Princess of Wales and Charles, Prince of Wales (Wang 2014). Being the eldest of the royal couple, he was given the titles of Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus (Wang 2014). Due to the fact that Prince William is part of the Royal Family, certain roles must be followed. Being a member of the British Monarchy requires Prince William to support The Queen’s choices and duties regarding charitable and public services. Most importantly, members of the Royal Family, including Prince William must help strengthen the state’s unity and stability. With high authorities, Prince William is able to effectively encourage public and private donors. The Royal Family is affiliated with approximately 3,000 organizations as either a president or patron, ranging from the environment to education (Wang 2014). One of the advantages that the Royal Family has is the ability to reach out to people on an international spectrum to address their concerns and interests. With Royal privileges and accountabilities, it is evident that Prince William has the capability to greatly influence society and share global developmental issues effectively. Prince William is a well-known member of the Royal Family who actively participates socially towards creating positive changes on a global scale.

Although Prince William was born into the Royal Family with high expectations, his mother wanted Prince William to have the same opportunities as other non-royal children and to experience a “normal” childhood. Raised by Princess Diana, Prince William looked up to her as an ideal role model whom he developed a strong relationship with. Princess Diana was referred to as ‘the People’s Princess’ and her persona is often seen through Prince William (Wang 2014). By doing so, he was able to stem an interest in these global issues at a young age. Throughout Prince William’s childhood years, he travelled alongside Princess Diana on her humanitarian trips around the world (Wang 2014). It was clear that Princess Diana was viewed as a predominant figure in Prince William’s life, but also admired by everyone across the globe. After the tragic death of Princess Diana, Prince William realized that he had big shoes and expectations to fill. From birth, Princess Diana played a significant role in shaping Prince William’s values, especially with developing a shared passion for charity involvement.

In 1985, William attended Mrs. Mynor’s Nursery school and Wetherby School, which were both private schools in London (Wang 2014). After this, William enrolled in Eton College where he studied Geography and managed to obtain an ‘A’ (Wang 2014). During his studies at Eton College, he began to grow an interest for the environment and its biodiversity. Once William graduated from Eton College, he made the decision to take a gap year where he mainly visited Africa and South America (Wang 2014). By 2001, Prince William returned to school where he attended at the University of St Andrews and continued to focus the remainder of his studies with environmental issues (Wang 2014). Doing so, Prince William chose to pursue a degree in Geography and earned a Scottish Master of Arts degree with upper second-class honours (Wang 2014). Finally, in January 2014 Prince William made the decision to further advance his educational career by enrolling in an agriculture management course at Cambridge University for 10-weeks (Wang 2014). With all of Prince William’s academic studies, his devotion towards concerns ecology is emphasized, as he is a prime example of a celebrity who shares a deep understanding of the subject.

In terms of Prince William’s interests, he has a strong care for the preservation of wildlife.
Prince William is also known for aligning himself with 21 charities while supporting 26 causes (Wang 2014). He is mainly affiliated as the Royal Patron to the Tusk Trust foundation (Wang 2014). Tusk Trust is a foundation that has over 20 years of experience supporting community development, environmental education and funding ecological conservation (Wang 2014). Alongside this, Prince William works with this organization to emphasize a clear connection between the future of Africa’s society and the preservation of its environment. As a proactive advocate of Tusk Trust, Prince William mainly addresses the need to protect threatened species in Africa, including rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, and other animals (Wang 2014). Over the duration of his work associated with the Tusk Trust foundation, Prince William has helped support a low-cost installation of water pumps in rural villages (Wang 2014). By providing sustainable water pumps in rural villages, a source of clean and drinkable water was supplied for livestock animals and villagers. Overall, William’s involvement with this organization addresses a strong concern for the drastic loss of habitat and endangerment of biodiversity. Prince William is a respectable representative of a celebrity with positive goals towards global development as he recognizes the importance of sustainable resources and having basic needs for
survival.

Next to supporting numerous charities, Prince William decided to expand his humanitarian support by establishing his own private aid agency in 2009 (Wang 2014).
The formation of The Royal Foundation could be viewed as a private donor for development. Prince William had goals of starting a charity that helped with the progress of geography while implementing effective change. His foundation aims to encourage others to preserve sustainable resources and funding sufficient funds. Two of the objectives of The Royal Foundation included young people and sustainable development (Wang 2014). Drawing a focus on young people, Prince William wanted to give disadvantaged youths education concerning the serious issues of the world’s development. Secondly, by fostering sustainable development, awareness about the ecosystem will be elevated. Private philanthropy plays a keen role in global development since they express powerful influence over society. Particularly seen with the Royal Foundation, Prince William has the ability to inform others on a large scale and influence other donors to donate towards his organization and promote his
interests.

During one of Prince William’s visits in Africa, he spent approximately ten weeks in Southern Chile teaching children (Midgley 2009). Throughout his gap year, he also spent time working with humanitarian causes which were captured by the media. One of Prince William’s biggest developmental accomplishments centered on building a five-classroom school in Bupadhengo, Uganda (Midgley 2009). Prince William was inspired to provide a proper shelter for these children in order to assure a safe learning environment. Asides from this, William also donated £6,000 towards the school (Midgley 2009). After his contribution for that school, it is now recognized as one of the most improved educational institutions in the Kumali district of Uganda (Midgley 2009). Prince William has been noted as a patron for ten other schools in Uganda and overseeing these institutions as well (Midgley 2009). On a bigger scale, William viewed substantial secondary education as an important step for providing opportunities for as many people as possible. By offering education to these young children, they would be exposed to environmental and humanitarian ideologies. More importantly, Prince William’s educational institutions would be shaping a framework of one’s understanding of the world and issues that are challenging global development. Especially seen through third world countries, citizens are undermined and it is vital to enhance their knowledge and sense of awareness of the global community.

As Prince William grew older, he began to become more involved with development. One of the biggest actions that Prince William did was address a sincere apology to Chile for the negative impacts that took place years ago during the British colonization (Kelemen 2014: 226). It was historically noted that the British were perceived as the dominant group who had intensions of controlling colonies in Africa (Kelemen 2014: 226). Through this, a result in unequal power relations began to form between the various diverse groups of people. The impacts of European colonialism took a drastic setback on the development of African nations (Kelemen 2014: 226). These impacts included the reinforcement of existing inequalities and hierarchies. Aside from reinforcing new disparities, European colonialism was also responsible for creating new social structures between ethnic groups and gender. In addition to that, there were large numbers of Europeans who settled and took over lands in South Africa and Kenya (Kelemen 2014: 226). European colonialism also destroyed existing ecological, social, economic, and knowledge systems within Africa. It was due to British colonialism that a massive redistribution of wealth was established which created global capitalism. Overall, the British entrenched a new system of power where no developed was allowed within Africa (Bennett 2013). With the imposed boundaries that were set up by the British, Africa was left with no social, linguistic, ecological, social, or political integrity. As second in line to the British throne, Prince William has a personal responsibility to the British Commonwealth, but has also given empathy towards the rest of society (Bennett 2013). It was known that the expansion of the British Empire played a driving factor with the impoverishment of the African nations and through Prince William’s apology it is evident that he has intensions of correcting these past mistakes.

At the time, there was no simple explanation behind what drove European imperialism (Kelemen 2014: 226). One of the main concepts raised through William’s actions was the white man’s burden. It is apparent that William possesses a strong commitment towards protecting African wildlife, but some argued that he is adopting the entire continent as well (Bennett 2013). Seen through Prince William’s missionary work in Uganda, the public is aware of his support for African development. Amongst all of William’s philanthropic aid and organizations, some opposed his work as an intervention of the white man’s burden (Bennett 2013). In a different perspective, it was seen that William’s constant attention and support for African colonies created a sense of dependency (Bennett 2013). Later it raised questions about whether or not Africa’s development should be concerned as progress, or if it was a shift towards resembling Western industrialized societies (Kelemen 2014: 226). Applying the theory of the white man’s burden, Prince William can be portrayed as a celebrity who presumes the responsibility of a white individual who influences his culture upon nonwhite groups, which ultimately could be a justification for European colonialism.

After a deep analysis of Prince William’s humanitarian work, he is an effective role model with sincere interests about global development. In comparison to other celebrities, Prince William uses his royal status to publicize his commitment about the environment and society (Goodman 2011, Barnes 2011: 77). As a royal heir, he does not just govern the needs within the British boundaries, but as well as to the rest of society. His actions reflect constructive actions during the present time and near the future generation. From a young age, Prince William developed a great attention towards ecological matters. From this, he was able to actively participate with charitable organizations starting from a young age. With collective experience gained through further educational studies, Prince William was able to advance his understanding of global development and how to cater to its needs. Although Prince William is often the center of the media’s attention, he takes advantage of this by encouraging philanthropic acts such as promoting his private developmental organization and as well as the other foundations he is affiliated with. From the installation of water pipes and the establishment of secondary schools in Africa, Prince William acknowledges the need for further development in third world countries. Another reason why Prince William could be portrayed as a celebrity with a positive contribution towards global development is his responsibility towards forming a stable future generation by correcting the negative impacts of British colonialism. Ultimately, Prince William is a prime example of a celebrity who does not abuse their high prestige out of personal benefits, but rather enrich the quality of life for society as a whole.