Of course, one died before he was born, and one after: so he is thought of as a *second* son; but his other older brother died when he himself was only a toddler. So he didn't really grow up as a second son: rather, he grew up as a *first* son, for reasons that he was the first to survive to adulthood.
The whole reason for my making qualifications on surviving childhood and focusing specifically on SECOND sons is the deep hole that Britain's Prince Harry has been in, all his life. He was brought into the world as the "spare" -- somebody to turn to, just in case something happened to the heir.
Now: had William died at birth (a not entirely implausible scenario, even in today's medical age -- as one should consider what happened to the firsborn child of Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and her husband, Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein), then Harry would essentially
qualify as a first son.
But not if William had died (say) in his teens, as a result of some accident: the point is that Harry would still have GROWN UP as a second son, under such a hypothetical scenario. For he would have been old enough to learn of his position in the dynasty -- in the shadow of his older brother, perceived to be *unimportant*, until the tragedy catapulting him into the Number One position.
Message Thread | This response ↓
« Back to index