Many have drawn links between the duke's manner and his experiences as a young man, suggesting his troubled family life helped shape a rather detached and unemotional outlook, while his navy career endowed him with a salty wit that frequently raises eyebrows.

CNN: Prince Philip: The man behind the queen

There were many reasons for taking gap years, such as gaining a broader outlook, making money and improving career prospects.

BBC: Many young people take gap years to try new experiences

But in his public life, Kennedy was the kind of politician who seems absent from modern politics, one who was loyal to an ideological outlook -- an ethos, as Sobchak would say -- and who devoted his career toward fighting for that cause.

CNN: Commentary: Ted Kennedy was a true believer