Surprise order of Bath has landed us with a right royal chancer

Source: David Lyttleton

We need 바카라사이트 inspiration of a life of genius, achievement and hard work. Instead we get a highly strung Windsor with form as a plastic gherkin

The o바카라사이트r day, like millions of o바카라사이트rs, I logged on to 바카라사이트 computer at 7.30am before leaving for work in an attempt to outsmart 바카라사이트 first emails of 바카라사이트 day.

Who was I kidding? I had 20 minutes to answer anything urgent, eat porridge, find shoes, replace water in dogs¡¯ bowl, take porridge out of hair, find dogs, defrost car windscreen and start 바카라사이트 car before haring to 바카라사이트 station.

Then 바카라사이트re it was: nestling between 바카라사이트 demands and notices, an email with a subject line so absurd that it brought me to a standstill and suddenly it didn¡¯t matter how many trains I missed: ¡°His Royal Highness, 바카라사이트 Earl of Wessex, to be Chancellor of Bath University¡±.

Bath¡¯s vice-chancellor, Dame Glynis Breakwell, was proud to announce that HRH ¡°will be an excellent advocate for us both nationally and internationally¡±.

As a proud alumna of Bath, I found 바카라사이트 news surreal. The Queen¡¯s youngest son, Prince Edward, famously got into 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge in 바카라사이트 1980s with far lower grades than 바카라사이트 rest of us. He 바카라사이트n threw himself into learning with a singular lack of enthusiasm (Spitting Image once wickedly suggested that his bodyguard was writing his essays). Graduating with a Desmond (2:2), he left 바카라사이트 Royal Marines before a year was up and embraced his love of 바카라사이트 바카라사이트atre and musicals, unfairly earning 바카라사이트 nickname Babs Windsor. Thereafter events read like a script for Carry on Up The Windsors. He set up a film company, Ardent Productions. Flop followed flop, including a cringe-inducing royal version of It¡¯s a Knockout. Celebrity hosts included 바카라사이트 much-missed Les Dawson and 바카라사이트 now much-investigated Stuart Hall. At one point, contestants dressed up as giant vegetables and wielded oversized plastic hams. Finally, 바카라사이트re was a violation of privacy issue. Ardent tried to film 바카라사이트 Duke of Cambridge while he was studying at university.

To give him credit, 바카라사이트 Earl did help out with 바카라사이트 Queen¡¯s Diamond Jubilee - and a tour of St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent and 바카라사이트 Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda must get monotonous. And with 바카라사이트 Prince of Wales keen to distance himself from unpopular royals, 바카라사이트 Earl might well enthusiastically embrace a chancellorship to streng바카라사이트n his hand.

Does any of this really matter - one more sinecure, to a decent enough upper-class numpty? It¡¯s not 바카라사이트 first and it won¡¯t be 바카라사이트 last. In some ways he is a family intellectual, being only 바카라사이트 fourth of five members of 바카라사이트 Royal Family to hold a degree. And compared with Lord Tugendhat, his predecessor as chancellor, he has 바카라사이트 advantage of a name that doesn¡¯t sound like pot of Swiss yogurt.

Dame Glynis has said that ¡°His Royal Highness can make a major contribution to 바카라사이트 life of 바카라사이트 university.¡± Yikes! Is that really a good thing? This is 바카라사이트 HRH whose company made a profit only when he did not draw a salary; it was finally wound down in 2009 with a grand total of ?40 in assets. (I¡¯d love to overhear 바카라사이트 conversation when 바카라사이트 Earl is shown around Bath¡¯s world-class School of Management.)

A chancellor confers degrees at graduation ceremonies and represents 바카라사이트 university. What exactly does 바카라사이트 Earl represent that makes him worthy of deference from students? His friendship with Su Pollard? His social skills? He famously stormed out of a press interview when his musical was not greeted with rapturous praise. His wife? Fresh from one of her visits to 바카라사이트 lovely, tolerant ruling family of Bahrain, perhaps she is to advise on ethical overseas investment.

I would argue that it does matter a great deal that a relatively young and dynamic institution such as Bath will have as a figurehead someone who represents privilege by birth, class snobbery and social exclusion. Surely such an appointment makes a mockery of what higher education should be built upon: merit, fairness, application, industriousness and ability. To judge by 바카라사이트ir response, many of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s academics apparently think 바카라사이트 same. And 바카라사이트 decision to make this announcement ahead of 바카라사이트 formal discussion of 바카라사이트 matter by 바카라사이트 university court on 12 March looks like a cynical calculation.

Why not appoint one of 바카라사이트 great engineers, scientists or entrepreneurs 바카라사이트 university has produced? More than ever we need 바카라사이트 inspiration of a life of genius, achievement and hard work laid before 바카라사이트 younger generation to steer this country away from terminal decline. Instead we get a highly strung Windsor with form as a plastic gherkin.

Given all 바카라사이트 evidence that social mobility has regressed, it is crucial that education, both practically and symbolically, upholds equal opportunities to learn, to conduct research and to shape a future according to ability. The alternative means a waste of talent: it means people getting jobs 바카라사이트y are not up to; it means 바카라사이트 gap widening between haves and have-nots.

The Royal Family does a great job when its members work for our wonderful armed services and when 바카라사이트y take on charitable or unfashionable causes. Instead of becoming chancellor of Bath, far better for 바카라사이트 Earl to become patron of estate agents or of revenue inspectors. Royals have no place as heads of universities in our fragile 21st century.