Posted on 11/18/2004 9:07:41 AM PST by softengine
PRINCE Charles's latest pronouncement on British society - that its schools are imbued with a culture of "social utopianism" responsible for people getting ideas above their station - was laid bare at an employment tribunal yesterday.
In a scathing memo, written to a third party in response to a request from a former Clarence House secretary for more training at work, Charles complained that young people nowadays think they can be pop stars, high court judges or even heads of state without putting in the work or having the "natural ability".
The secretary in question, Elaine Day, was described in the memo by Charles as "so PC it frightens me rigid".
Ms Day, who is claiming sex discrimination and unfair dismissal against the prince's household, described it as "hierarchical and elitist", an institution run in an "Edwardian fashion" where everyone knew their place and those who did not were punished.
A personal assistant to private secretaries at Clarence House for five years, Ms Day told the tribunal she was forced out earlier this year because she "rocked the boat at the palace". She said she was left "isolated and humiliated" after complaining about sexual harassment from her boss, assistant private secretary Paul Kefford.
Clarence House has said it will "vigorously" contest the case, which is being heard in Croydon, south London, and is expected to last three days.
The memo was written by the prince in response to a suggestion by Ms Day that personal assistants with university degrees should be given the opportunity to train to become private secretaries, the hearing was told.
In the memo, the prince wrote: "What is wrong with everyone nowadays?
"Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities?
"This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of a child-centred system which admits no failure.
"People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability.
"This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history."
The memo concludes: "What on earth am I to tell Elaine? She is so PC it frightens me rigid."
The note, dated March 2003, was a response to a suggestion made by Ms Day to Mr Kefford.
Ruth Downing, counsel for Ms Day, asked her what she understood it to mean.
"I completely felt that people could not rise above their station," Ms Day replied.
The secretary, from Belvedere, Kent, said a campaign of discrimination had been launched against her in an attempt to "remind her of her place" at Clarence House.
Ms Day claimed the problems started after her former boss, Mark Bolland, then the prince's deputy private secretary, left in August 2002 and she began working under Mr Kefford.
She said that she felt "uncomfortable" as soon as she started working for Mr Kefford.
"He would approach me from behind at the photocopier and put his hand on my back and rub it, He would also touch my arm and shoulders and that made me feel uneasy."
She told the tribunal she was one of three female members of staff who were sexually harassed by the prince's assistant private secretary. After an event in August 2002, she said: "I didn't ever want to be put in a position where I was alone with him, ie working late at night, going into his office and shutting the door."
She said that she first complained in August 2002 and made a formal complaint in October.
Ms Day said that when she raised her concerns to Prince Charles's private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, he replied: "I thought he was gay."
Ms Day said that, after her complaint, she had been subject to "continuing acts of discrimination, victimisation, harassment and undermining behaviour" by senior staff.
She said that she experienced "ongoing discrimination" until she left in April this year.
She added: "I was aware of a culture in the household, which stemmed from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, that the respondent [the prince's household] would not welcome employees which it perceived rocked the boat. This was made abundantly clear to me."
She told the tribunal how she had been "put in her place" on a particular trip to Holyrood Palace in June 2003. On that occasion, she was given an attic room to sleep in alongside domestic servants rather than a room with the rest of the office staff.
She said: "I appreciate that the fact that I had been confined to the attic with the domestic staff may seem a trivial matter, but working in the household it's all about status, hierarchy and knowing one's place.
"Putting me up in the attic with domestic staff, away from the other office staff, has clearly been done to humiliate me and remind me of my place.
"At the end of the day I am not the first person to consider that if you go against the palace, steps will be taken to isolate you."
Ms Day added: "I simply felt that I had nowhere to turn, I felt totally isolated."
The tribunal continues.
Direct and accurate.
Nicely done. ...I'm liking Charles more and more these days.
I don't see a problem with encouraging kids to reach fo the stars, as long as you don't teach them to think they are entitled to be a star -- in this world, that will depend on native merit, skill, hard work, drive and luck.
That line sums it all up for me. The "entitlement" culture that permeates education, not only in England, but also in the United States makes kids believe they'll be handed good jobs in whatever field they wish, regardless of whether they have any ability in that field, regardless of whether they are willing to work long and hard to learn what they need to learn to perform on the job. It's sickening, and I love the Prince Charles is calling them on it. Success requires work, leftists, no matter how much you try to change it. No one owes you anything. You only attain it if you earn it.
Memo from someone who was born into his station...
Charles is kind of a strange man, but I've rarely disagreed with his opinions on society and politics.
I wonder if she has witness statements from the other females who were allegedly sexually harassed. If so, then she has a good chance of winning buck bucks, er, a fistful of dollars. You know what I mean.
"People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability.
He was born to his position, it was a matter of having the right parents. Born to a middle class family, he probably would have made a dull but solid middle class Englishman.
Well..he is training to be King of England...not that that means much. It would be better news if there was actually something in her performance of duties or work habits that back up his statements. I thought that her request showed some drive and initiative, but if her particular natural abilities were in question you would think that would be the basis for this. Of course, being the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles may have seen the request as beneath him and is indirectly calling into question her job performance, thus not sullying himself in the management operations of his Jr. staff. Interesting read though.
You have the right to pursue any station you want, but the attainment of that station is going to be a function of how much effort you put into that pursuit and the natural ability God endowed you with. You're not going to get it (or at least be deserving of it) because you belong to the right group or are a member of an underrepresented minority.
He may be right, but he's about the last person on earth who should be saying it.
The woman doesn't have anything against heirarchy. She simply objects to being placed at the bottom.
Remember that a Royal Family believes that they were put in that place by God and are in training all their lives to be statesmen. I don't entertain to even understand the mindset, but I realize that it is a situation and environment that I will never experience.
One more reason we threw his overbearing dictatorialness relative out of America freeing ourselves from the arbitrary rule of the likes of his hinneyness...
We might not all know our stations...but we certainly know where he is coming from...and without so much as a 'bye your leave your majesty'...
While it can be said that cream rises to the top....it can also be said that crap floats...
The royals are pretty much proof of this later 'methaphorical' axiom
imo
The headline and much of the thrust of the article is simply false. If you read Charles' actual remarks, clearly he is not talking about "station", heredity, birth situation, etc. Instead, he is talking about achievement and competence. Two completely different concepts. But it doesn't fit the media's preconceptions or agenda, and so they have had to twist meaning beyond recognition in order to create a phony row.
Now that's Edwardian alright. ; )
I think the headline is misleading - Charles is clearly talking about meritocracy and achieving merit through natural ability and hard work, not being born into a station. This phenomenon is common in law firms where some paralegals carp about how they know law better than the lawyers and it's not fair that they get paid less. I do know some pretty dumb lawyers, but every one of them has somehow managed to put in the work to graduate 3 years of law school and pass the bar.
The memo was written by the prince in response to a suggestion by Ms Day that personal assistants with university degrees should be given the opportunity to train to become private secretaries, the hearing was told.
I don't think anyone here would think this is an outrageous suggestion. However, there were accusations of sexual harrassment. Now, that's what we are really talking about. Did the "sexual harrassment" come before or after she was denied her request. I think the harrassment came WAY after, probably in her lawyers office when they were trying to come up with some way to get money out of the Royal Family.
BTTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.