Harry the pointless prince

Twenty-one year Prince Harry has been giving interviews to mark his coming of age. Oh dear.

In many respects, Harry has been living up to the reputation of second-born princes as irresponsible wastrels with rugger bugger tendencies - just like Uncle Andrew. His crowning glory in this regard was turning up at a fancy-dress party dressed as a Nazi.

But while he's training to be an Army officer at Sandhurst, he's keen to stress that his heart lies elsewhere - his work with AIDS victims in Lesotho. It's the dying Africans making the prince feel better, not the other way round. 'It's amazing how appreciative they are for even the smallest things. You give them a tennis ball and they think it's Christmas,' he told the press.

Harry is reportedly trying to follow in the footsteps of his mother, Diana, who wanted to feel our pain instead of lording it over us. Unfortunately for the royals, the gauche prince reveals the naked narcissism of these sentiments. Anyone for tennis?

Prince: I'll carry on Diana's work, Scotsman, 15 September 2005