"Well, I won't be breaking any speed limits in this bloody thing."
It’s good to see the Maori Royal Family are getting the hang of the royalty business.
A bit of scandal is part of it.
This includes breaking the speed limit, if we are to follow the example of European royals, but a blue-blooded young buck could get up to other sorts of mischief.
Pump the words “royal” and “scandal” into Google, and you will get plenty of hits.
The Telegraph, one of Alf’s favourite newspapers, wrapped up a few of them in one article.
Example:
In 1891, the Duke of Clarence, son of the future Edward VII, discussed the possibility of paying off two prostitutes he had met, in exchange for the return of two letters he had sent to them.
Details of the Duke’s indiscretions did not come to light until incriminating letters were auctioned at Bonhams in 2002 for £8,220.
Writing at the time, the Duke confided: “I am very pleased that you have been able to settle with Miss Richardson, although £200 is rather expensive for letters.
“I presume there is no other way of getting them back. I will also do all I can to get back the one or two letters written to the other lady.”
The price tag was a large sum for the 26-year-old Prince – equivalent to around £12,000 today.
The Telegraph goes on to list a few more Royal involvements in court cases, although it says these are extremely rare and when they occur the proceedings make history.
* In 1870, the Prince of Wales – later King Edward VII – voluntarily appeared as a witness in a divorce case when Lady Mordaunt falsely accused the heir to the throne of being one of her lovers.
* In June 1891, the same bloke appeared as a witness in the Tranby Croft case to testify on a slander accusation arising from a card game.
* King George V, Edward VII’s son, was accused of bigamy by a republican newspaper early in his reign and sued for libel. Although he did not appear in court to give evidence, the King sent a statement making clear that he was innocent of bigamy and was legally married to Queen Mary.
* A few years ago, the Princess Royal became the first member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offence when she admitted a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act after one of her pets bit two children in Windsor Great Park.
* The Princess had previously been fined £400 and given five penalty points after admitting driving her Bentley at 93mph on a dual carriageway in Gloucestershire.
Some of the blue bloods from other countries get up to this sort of thing, too.
The youngest daughter of the former King of Greece appeared in a California court earlier this year to face charges of speeding. Princess Theodora, age 27, was originally charged also with driving under the influence, but that was dropped.
The incident happened in September 2010. Theodora was driving up to 100 miles per hour and followed another vehicle too closely in Monterey County. Police found she had a blood alcohol level of .07
Theodora appeared in court for an arraignment in September, and was described by local media as “haughty”. It was reported that the Princess expected to simply pay her ticket and carry on with her life, but was surprised to learn she had to get a lawyer and appear in court.
She pleaded no contest on Wednesday.
The Princess was fined $1,000, plus court fees, for her offenses.
The Maori King’s youngest lad has obviously taken his cue from Europe’s royal speedsters, because the Herald today reports –
Police have laid charges after the Maori King’s younger son was involved in a boyracer crash from which witnesses say he was lucky to escape alive.
Residents who saw the wrecked Mitsubishi Lancer say they can’t believe 16-year-old Korotangi Paki – who was yesterday identified by one of the King’s representatives as the driver – survived.
The crash happened on a 50km/h stretch of Riverview Rd, which runs alongside the western bank of the Waikato River, parallel to State Highway 1.
A Waikato police spokesman, Andrew McAlley, would not confirm the driver’s identity, but said a car had been seized and a teenager had been arrested on charges including driving with sustained loss of traction and dangerous driving.
The teenager had been referred to Youth Aid.
“I can confirm that a 16-year-old has been arrested on boyracer charges,” Mr McAlley said. “He is thought to have been doing burnouts.”
One of the King’s spokesmen, Rahui Papa, confirmed to the Herald that Korotangi was driving the vehicle.
“He’s doing well. He’s alive and that’s our main focus. There’s some shock but he’s not broken.
“When I see him, he’s going to get a big clip on his ears.”
A resident of the area where the crash happened said the accident did not surprise him, because Riverview Rd’s speed limit was constantly broken by “hoons” who used it as a high-speed motorway.
In this case, of course, it looks like we are talking about a royal hoon, not one of your hoi polloi hoons.
Alf Grumble 