In a new episode of the long-running farce, Charles Windsor donned fancy dress to visit British troops in Iraq at the weekend. Mr. Windsor wore battle dress showing the insignia of the Parachute Regiment. He is said to particularly enjoy dressing up in the tough regiment’s uniform although, according to the Financial Times, “his belief system seems closer to Buddhism than to church-going”.
Mr. Windsor, who claims the title of colonel-in-chief of the Parachute regiment, gave its soldiers what the News of the World described as a “stiff formal farewell” when they left Britain to fight in Iraq. No mention of the regiment’s role in Iraq was made on his web site although it did find space for 19 paragraphs, two photographs and speech transcript on his visit to an Islamic education centre. The newspaper also claimed that Mr. Windsor believed that the purpose of the military action was for the USA to gain control of Iraqi oil.
Mr. Windsor moved on to Iran after his visit to the troops. The failings of Iran’s monarchy played some part in the disastrous events leading to the establishment of clerical rule in that country.