Letter: Send royals abroad

Sir: The House of Windsor and its advisers have only themselves to blame if the Prince of Wales does not become King of Australia.

To send the late Duke of Gloucester as Governor-General and to educate the Prince of Wales for a term at Geelong School were rightly seen 'down under' as sops.

What should have happened, if the House of Windsor was serious in its dynastic ambitions, was to send the young royals - Andrew, Edward and Anne - to settle in Canada, Australia and New Zealand when still young, and to be educated and brought up and to found their own Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dynasties. This would have enabled them to be truly identified with their respective countries.

There are plenty of royal precedents. Philip V, a French Bourbon prince, left France at 18 when he was offered the Spanish throne in 1700, and never saw his family again. The House of Hapsburg offers similar examples. In fact, the present, splendid King of Spain, Juan Carlos, left his parents behind in Portugal and went to Spain at the age of 10 to be brought up as a Spaniard in preparation for his present role as King.

Yours truly,

JOHN W. DOSSETT-DAVIES

Witney, Oxfordshire