NotUrsula
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2002
Why is George Clooney always everywhere in these stories?
Because he's a perennial +1 in int'l philanthropic circles since his marriage. Clooney is used to speaking to the press and is known for taking almost everything in stride; if he's angry he just walks away and doesn't normally bother to try to get even. Therefore the press seeks him out, but the real reason that he is invited to so many events in these circles is that his wife is a marquee guest. Amal Clooney is extremely influential as an advisor to major human rights charities. She is the one these particular sort of donors want to get close to; Clooney is just a little added cachet.
As for Prince Philip. he is really an odd duck, because he has no country of his own, as it were. His immediate family were all dispossessed &/or died around WW2, and he ended up stateless until his mother's brother Louis Mountbatten informally adopted him. Like many people who grew up with status but lost it through the folly of their parents, Philip had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about ending up with no money of his own, and especially about being completely dependent on the Queen's financial largesse. As he frequently did, Mountbatten played matchmaker in Philip's marriage to Princess Elizabeth. Mountbatten, whilst appearing to be genuinely fond of his various aristocratic wards and family connections, was at the same time absolutely fine with using them to further his own behind-the-scenes power. He was also notoriously old-school when it came to the rearing of young men; he was the one who sent Philip to Gordonstoun, where the Queen's sons, in turn, were sent by Philip. In those days it was famous for embracing the Victorian ideal of "Spartan" education for boys -- by which they meant in the tradition of Ancient Sparta., which brings us to the other issue about Gordonstoun that is important as it relates to both Mountbatten and the Andrew Scandal: it is currently under investigation for allegations that, historically the school turned a blind eye, or worse, in some ways encouraged, sexual abuse, both of students by staff, and of younger students by older students. (Mountbatten was a highly-decorated Naval commander, but he wasn't the most moral of men.)