Queen Elizabeth Chooses Former British Ambassador As Advisor To Princes William And Harry

Britain's Queen Elizabeth has chosen the former British Ambassador to Washington to become a mentor to her grandsons Princes William and Harry. Sir David Manning will act as an unpaid part-time advisor, in a move which shows the princes' growing role in public life.

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William, 26, and Harry, 24, will be able to call him whenever they need guidance from outside their family and usual counsel. He is expected to advise the princes on international affairs and political issues.

A source said: "It was the queen's idea to have such a figure and she approved the appointment of Sir David."

David acted as a go-between for U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair before the second Gulf war.

The move comes in the same week it was reported William and Harry are setting up new offices in London's St. James' Palace, reflecting their increased independence from their father Prince Charles.

The office - known as a household in royal circles - is a symbolic step to show the men are asserting their own identities within the royal family, and are ready to take on more responsibility.

A source said: "It is part of the natural progression of William and Harry as senior members of the royal family. It is like their coming of age as it was for a young Princess Elizabeth and young Prince of Wales."

As part of the move the princes will get their own writing paper embossed with their own personal cyphers, which they were both involved in designing.

William's is red - the same color used by the queen and Prince Charles. Harry has chosen a rich blue, which is almost exactly the same as that used by his late mother Princess Diana.