In a mere ten days, the men of the next generation of two internationally renowned (you can also read infamous) families on both sides of the pond made the same decision when their presence was required at home at two very important events. Both men attained their privilege by birth (well, one of them by both birth and marriage). A seemingly identical lack of responsibility and sound judgment is evident in both. When it was required of them to be present in their home countries, they opted for a different kind of action – the action of travelling over snow on skis, commonly known as skiing. They headed to the ski slopes, far away from their responsibilities.

On March 13, the Duke of Cambridge was the most noticeable absentee from the Commonwealth Day service held at Westminster Abbey. This is Britain’s – or Great Britain’s, as the British prefer to call it – largest interfaith gathering and is attended by senior members of the royal family and leaders from the Commonwealth.

The Duke of Cambridge is better known to you and me as Prince William, a married father of two and the future King of England; he is third in line. Before the event, he was favoured to succeed Queen Elizabeth over his father, but public opinion seems to have shifted dramatically. The queen, who, incidentally, still carries out most of the royal duties, turned 90 on April 21, 2016, and is already the longest-serving monarch in modern times. It is quite unreasonable to expect her to carry on for many more years to come.

Considering that UK Prime Minister Theresa May was due to officially inform the European Union (EU) on March 29 that the UK would be leaving the bloc, the UK’s relationship with the Commonwealth is now more important than ever. The Commonwealth consists of 52 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific. It is also significant that 2017 marked the fortieth anniversary of Commonwealth Day. So, it was not the standard Commonwealth Day; it had significance.

While this highly publicised event was taking place in Westminster Abbey, William was being photographed enjoying a men-only ski trip in the Swiss Alps with some of his closest friends. To add insult to injury, the prince was recorded dad dancing, which made the headlines internationally. Just in case you were wondering, dad dancing is defined as awkward or unfashionable dancing to pop music, as characteristically performed by middle-aged or older men. Such activity is normally reserved for weddings. It is said, for optimum embarrassment of offspring, dad dancing is best performed to REM’s Shiny Happy People.

Interestingly, William’s bother, Prince Harry, who himself was due to take a skiing trip during the week of March 27, cancelled the trip after William’s dad dancing, now also described as ‘boozy lads’ holiday’.

But it was not only William who opted for the ski slopes when duty called. On the other side of the Atlantic, in the US, President Donald J Trump had one of his most important weeks in power during the week of March 20. This was when one of his key election pledges, to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – often shortened to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and also known as Obamacare – was due for debate in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

With the Republicans, the political party that Trump leads, controlling both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump was expected to have all the cards in his favour. In light of this, Trump and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan set a deadline to erase the ACA on its seventh anniversary, March 23. They would replace it with the slimmer American Health Care Act (AHCA).

Unfortunately for Trump, he could not count on all his party’s representatives to support and endorse the AHCA. So, while the rest of Trump’s senior staff scrambled to squeeze votes for the President’s healthcare package, one person remained noticeably absent for most of the week – until the Friday – and that was a certain Jared Kushner. This is Trump’s son-in-law. He, along with his wife, Ivanka Trump, another key cog in her father’s inner circle, was on vacation until March 23, skiing with family in the posh Colorado town of Aspen. As was the case with William, the paparazzi were around, photographing Jared and Ivanka taking leisurely strolls, enjoying ice cream cones with their three children and winding their way down the slopes. It is said that, meanwhile, back in Washington, Trump was fuming, upset that his son-in-law and senior adviser was not around during this crucial week. Kushner did appear at the White House on Friday, March 24, when the Obamacare repeal effort had all but failed.

It must have been quite a disappointing time for the parents, including the in-laws, that, when they required support, they could not count on those whose position was, ironically, through their making, as they are part of the family business. It has been, and remains, fascinating to me how the leaders of a family business are at great pains to explain that their children, and in-laws, attained their position through hard work and dedication. Straight faced, they will explain that their breed competed against the best and prevailed. That is their prerogative, you might argue. But then they should not assume the loyalty and support of their children; they cannot be guaranteed a reciprocal action of support and favour.

It seems that, when the going gets tough, the tough go skiing. Could it all be downhill from here?