So we have royalty. They sometimes have foot-in-mouth disease, but for the most part they're well meaning. As for the latest public outcry, it just seems like an excuse to bash the royals.

Granted when the risk assessment forms were filled in for my silver expedition, the most dangerous part of the whole thing was getting out of the minibus and crossing the road. Knowing that kinda took the edge off things untill we managed to distract ourselves with more pressing concerns like the distance we needed to cover. But without a feeling of risk it's just a walk in the woods. It's why white-knuckle rides and sports that involve jumping off mountains or out of perfectly good aircraft are fun.

Please don't rob future generations of any sense of accomplishment by going into risk hysteria. Most of our expedition training can probably be summarised as "how to not die of insert todays subject here."

Perhaps there's something increasingly wrong with the risk perception of modern humans. Perhaps it's something to do with the loss of childhood and teenage experiences that teach risk assessment. What's the most dangerous thing you did today?

By all means exercise your freedom to mock the royals when they do something monumentally stupid, but Prince Edward speaks the truth, so leave him alone. For now.