Leave it out, Harry

Is the British royal family hell-bent on its own destruction? You'd have to think that's the case when reading about the various taxpayer-funded antics of Prince Harry. The latest story has him joining in a party held by Chelsea footballers and casually buying a $1300 bottle of Cristal champagne. Now I'm sure other minor officers in the British forces can't afford that kind of excess - and you'd think a bright person in his position might want to exercise some restraint during the global economic crisis, when ordinary Britons are doing it tough. Surely even dyed-in-the-wool monarchists can't condone this kind of behaviour.