Party boy Prince William is ‘going downhill’ as he desperately tries to relive his youth… is it the start of a mid-life crisis?

WHAT the heck is going on with Prince William?

It looks like he’s having an early mid-life crisis and desperately trying to relive a youth he missed out on.

Those embarrassing party photos and videos with posh birds at a Swiss ski resort, while the rest of the royals were at the important Commonwealth Day Service in Westminster Abbey, have angered and upset many of William’s previous supporters.

Even his uncle, Prince Andrew, managed to attend the Commonwealth event and nobody could ever accuse him of working his fat fingers to the bone.

I don’t know why William thought it was OK to remain on the ski slopes for a boozy lads’ weekend. Now it has all come to bite him firmly on the backside with more and more embarrassing revelations about his antics.

It is all the more surprising because William has always been the “good boy”, but maybe this is his way of finally rebelling.

While younger brother Harry grew up having all the fun, with wine women and song, sober William was at university dating his nice but dull Kate and conforming to every page of the rulebook.

Now it would appear that the two brothers have traded places.

Harry looks very settled with girlfriend Meghan Markle and has knuckled down to take his royal duties seriously. He does vital work for our Armed Forces, especially those wounded in body and mind.

He has effectively shed his party boy image — which big brother William appears to have seized with both hands.

Now, I don’t begrudge any of the royals having a bit of fun now and again, everyone is allowed a break.

The younger set, however — including Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice — appear to be on a long holiday at our expense.

No one can fault the work ethic of the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Anne, who have a deep sense of duty and responsibility.

But some of the royal grandchildren, and others on the periphery of The Firm, are in grave danger of making the nation run out of patience, and finding themselves irrelevant, resented and unwanted.

This year, William has attended roughly half the number of royal engagements his granny has managed — and she is 90 and recently suffered a lengthy illness.

It sends out the wrong message and overshadows the good work William is engaged in, particularly with charities close to his heart. I know how much he does for charities such as Centrepoint, which helps homeless youngsters, and a lot of it goes under the radar.

He, Kate and Harry have also carried out invaluable work on the Heads Together campaign to help remove the stigma over mental health problems. All of this has now been overshadowed and William needs to win back the approval of his future subjects.

I actually feel rather sorry for Kate right now.

She has dutifully produced two royal babies — and to satisfy the traditionalists even had them in the “right” order, with a prince as heir and princess as “the spare”.

She wears clothes that are too old for her, to conform to convention, and smiles sweetly through bum-numbing royal events.

I hope she tears a strip off her silly husband for being such an eejit and allowing himself to be laughed at and accused of being workshy.

They are just over a year shy of the seven-year itch, when couples can become bored with one another and want to see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

I don’t think their marriage is in trouble but William needs to buy a bloody big bunch of roses for his wife and make a grovelling apology.

He also needs to step up to the plate, take over some of the duties of his ageing grandparents and emulate their sense of duty and commitment. I really hope this is just a hiccup for William.

We all have such deep sympathy for how he and Harry lost their beloved mum Diana when they were so heartbreakingly young, and he is fundamentally a very decent young man. It’s a very real shame Diana isn’t still here to advise and guide him.

She had a deft touch and a keen sense of how public respect is so tough to achieve and yet can be so easily lost.

She knew you had to work at making the public love you, which is why she was so deeply mourned.

William has made a mistake and must take the flack but hopefully he has learned a valuable lesson.

He and Kate went to Paris yesterday, a difficult trip as it will for ever be associated with the death of Diana, but made tougher for the couple because of this week’s unwanted awkwardness over his behaviour.

If William does want to be a party animal in future, he should take his wife with him. It would also be a good idea to ensure his mortifying dad dancing isn’t being recorded for posterity on everyone’s mobile phones.

You're a daddy's girl, Paris

PARIS Jackson looks beautiful on the cover of this month’s Harper’s Bazaar.

But apparently she’s not happy with the glossy magazine because it referred to her late dad in the headline, declaring her to be his favourite child.

I know it’s always difficult for children of the very rich and famous and, when it comes to superstars, Michael Jackson was in a class of his own.

Paris, 18, will always be described as the daughter. Just like Lisa Marie Presley – and even Stella McCartney, despite her notable career as a fashion designer.

Paris is a troubled young woman, struggling to find her place in the world.

Aged 11 she had to deal with the traumatic death of her dad – cast into the bewildering, blinding spotlight after being overly protected by him for her whole life until then.

She does, however, have opportunities that have only come her way because of her famous dad.

It would be very naive of her not to think publications, film companies and record labels will exploit that connection and squeeze every last drop of publicity out of it that they possibly can.

The bottom line is that they are businesses out to make money and, sadly, Paris is just another asset.

I hope she can accept that and use their eye for a profit to her advantage in pursuing a career that I sincerely hope makes her happy.

Antarctica adventure

YOU might have noticed that I have been away for a few weeks. I was on a very emotional and challenging venture to Antarctica.

I followed the journey made by my hero Sir Ernest Shackleton – known as The Boss – who somehow managed to save all of his men after their ship Endurance was crushed in the Antarctic ice.

They used three lifeboats to sail to Elephant Island in the South Shetland islands. From there, Shackleton, inset right, took five of his men, aboard the tiny boat James Caird, on a desperate, life-saving mission 800 miles to South Georgia to get help – braving the worst seas in the world.

It all happened more than 100 years ago but is still one of the most heroic and remarkable feats in polar exploration.

We travelled Shackleton’s route in comfort but I did do something that I reckon would have bemused The Boss and his brave crew –  and hopefully made them laugh.

I was talked into a polar plunge and ran into the freezing water in my bikini.

I kept on my warm hat, gloves and scarf, right, but was like an icicle after about 30 seconds.

We saw the most incredible wildlife and even managed a quick trip to the Falklands on the way back – one of the many highlights of the trip and such a friendly and beautiful part of the world.

I have been well and truly bitten by the Antarctic bug and can’t wait to go back.

It was an amazing journey and I will be talking more about it when back on my TV show on Monday.

morning at 8.30am.

Must be havin' a laugh, Vic?

GOOD to see photos of Victoria Beckham smiling.

She apparently hates her grin and I have always thought that a real shame.

Her smile is radiant and makes her look at least ten years younger than when she pouts and furrows her brow.

Maybe Victoria was beaming with glee because of the practical joke she was about to play on the wacky world of fashion. She WAS surely wearing that oversized tan clown suit for a laugh, wasn’t she?