Why was prince edward tossed out of the royal marines?

Answer 1

It's a complete myth that Prince Edward was thrown out of the Royal Marines. In fact, he was half way through the Officers' training course, and coping perfectly well (I know - my cousin was in the same training batch), but decided that it was not for him, and applied for discharge from training on "personal grounds", as he - like any other trainee - was entitled to do. After the normal "cooling off" period for reflection and discussion/ counselling with the Chief Training Officer (again, absolutely standard under such circumstances) he was allowed to leave on "voluntary release from training". This is not uncommon: some young potential officers realise after completing some of the very demanding training that life in the RM is just not for them, and the Corps will not generally try to retain them - what would be the point? To force reluctant people through the course would be counterproductive, and if their motivation is lacking it's unlikely in any case that they'd complete the course!

Many rumours - some nefarious - have abounded about why Prince Edward dropped out. Truth is, he just did not want it - simple. He was a very fit young man possessing good communication and leadership skills, and intelligent, thoughtful, and well educated (respectable degree from Cambridge), and there's little doubt that had he remained motivated he'd have passed, and passed well, to receive a commission in the Royal Marines. The Royal Marines would have loved to have him in their ranks for a few years, but sadly he decided that they were not for him. There was no more to it than that - a young man took a wrong career turn (possibly paternal pressure had pushed him that way - again, not uncommon), and he had the courage to accept that he was a "square peg in a round hole" and leave, rather than continue with something he hated just to live up to the expectations of others. Given the spotlight he was under, and the inevitable criticism, press speculation, rumours etc that would follow, it was a courageous decision. As he noted himself, "the Marines who would have been under my command deserve nothing less than the full commitment of their leaders, something I felt unable to give." Fair one. Certainly, most people in the Corps at the time respected him for his honesty.