Should children carry on their parents' work? We all know families of doctors where generations have given a good service, of politicians' children who go into politics and of business people whose children carry on the brand name.
Recent research has shown that children do well to go into careers similar to their parents because tempermentally, genetically and intellectually such children often share their parents' traits. And when pusuing a busy career, what better mentor could you ask for than your own parent?
Carrying on emotional burdens is something else, though. The urge to fight parents' battles, even when those parents have died, can be irresistible for young people and also very damaging.
Prince Harry (left) has defended his late mother, Diana, and called her the bravest person he has ever known. It's unfortunate that his father, Prince Charles, could never do the same. Trapped in a Royal family bubble, Prince Harry may see no other way to deal with his own grief and justify his love for his mother by following in her footsteps. I don't mean to sound like a pop astrologer, but I see danger here. Watch this space.
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