Prince William says he doesn't want to be an 'ornament'

Prince William, second in line to the throne of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, has told a charity forum that he does not want to be a royal 'ornament'.

Citing his parents, the Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as his grandmother the Queen as his inspirations, the 27-year-old Prince told the meeting of the The Princes’ Charities Forum, held at St James' Palace, that he wanted to be "more involved" and not be a "royal ornament" who "turns up and opens things" and is seen shaking hands on official visits and at engagements. According to the Telegraph the Prince, who was not accompanied by his brother Prince Harry who was on military duties, explained to the forum something about the philosophy behind the life he wants to lead. He said:

What I try to do is take the best bits of my mother's charitable work and the best bits of my father's charitable work and do them both together. I'm not in their league, but I'm warming up, hopefully, and I'm trying to do what I can

The Daily Mail says that the Prince further spoke of developing his own style in the way he handles his royal duties, although he said that he was not referring to a "third way", a term often used in politics to describe a position that is not explicitly left-wing or right-wing. The term is sometimes applied to the administrations of Bill Clinton in the U.S. and the New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in the U.K. With regard to the purpose of the forum at which the Prince spoke, both the Telegraph and Daily Mail use the example of a mountain climb that the Prince undertook in July to illustrate the cooperation between different charities, often completely unrelated in day-to-day life, he and his brother are trying to encourage. Accompanied by young people from the homelessness charity Centrepoint and Mountain Rescue volunteers, Prince William climbed Helvellyn, a mountain in the Lake District which is the third highest in England. One of the young people on the climb was 18-year-old Jonny Glendinning, who was formerly homeless. The Prince said of Mr Glendinning:

People see him for the fact he's got 19 piercings, but he's nothing like he looks. It's people like that I want to relate to. They have fantastic character and they just need opportunity and hope and confidence