What prince and soccer star have in common, plus British Methodism

The two golden-haired youths stare out of the front pages of the newspapers and magazines. It seems we can never get enough of them. They are both wealthy and photogenic, and they have grown used to having their tastes and whims scrutinized by the world. More exalted than film stars, they live in a universe tinged with unreality.

It goes without saying that David Beckham and Prince William come from very different backgrounds. Mr. Beckham grew up in a modest home in East London before making the pilgrimage north to join Manchester United, the country’s — and arguably the world’s — most famous soccer team. William, in contrast, represents a very modern form of privilege. If his father, Prince Charles, embodies the Olde Englande of tweed, tractors and a whiff of new-fangled organic farming, his mother, Princess Diana, moved in glossier social circles inhabited by a strange mixture of old money, Knightsbridge chic and lotus-eating Eurotrash.

United by fame and adulation, Mr. Beckham and the prince rule over us through the news pages and the gossip columns.

And now both young men are at a turning point this week, William celebrating his 21st birthday, Mr. Beckham preparing to join the Spanish aristocracy by signing with Real Madrid..

Together, the two young men are seen as symbols of a new Britain. But what kind of Britain do we mean?

It would be reassuring to think that the hype really does stand for something, that Prince William is a new kind of royal and that David Beckham is a new kind of Briton, a stylish product of the meritocracy that was supposed to have been bequeathed to us by Margaret Thatcher.

There could still be a happy ending to this particular tale. Yet you don’t have to be a monarchist or a Man United fan to feel a twinge of concern. William is a success at the moment, but how will he fare once he leaves university and the tabloid press begin to set about their business in earnest? For the time being, the nation loves William because he is his mother’s son.

Once he emerges as an individual in his own right he will be at the mercy of the public’s whims. If he sticks to wearing the right clothes, if he marries the right girl, if he makes a dashing Army officer, the adoration will continue.

If he makes the mistake of being photographed hunting once too often (he looks a lot less of a matinee idol dressed up for an afternoon’s pursuit of foxes), if he starts to behave as boorishly as his uncle Andrew once did or makes as many public blunders as Aunt Fergie, the mood will change.

Having invested so much time and energy in image management, the House of Windsor may find it has little to fall back.

A large part of the public has already noticed that many members of the Royal Family seem more interested in leading comfortable, subsidized existences than leading a life of public service.

As an institution, the monarchy commands less and less respect among the under-60s. William the pin-up will give the family the requisite glamour, but all models start to lose their looks in the end. Nearly 40 years after they made the fateful decision to open the doors of Windsor Palace and Sandringham to the TV cameras, the royals are beginning to resemble participants in the grandest Big Brother series of them all.

This is reality TV with a silver spoon in its mouth. We can eavesdrop on their satellite phone calls, we wince whenever the Duke of Edinburgh makes a crass joke, we chuckle every time Prince Edward takes up a new career.

Do the Royals really only amount to a form of idle entertainment? For an ever-expanding segment of the population, I think the answer is yes. The British love to make fun of Americans’ reverence for their flag and all the pomp surrounding the president.

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