Lonely king in waiting
Apr 07, 2005
For Prince Charles, the 56-year-old heir to the British throne, waiting has become a way of life
For Prince Charles, the 56-year-old heir to the British throne, waiting has become a way of life.
It took him a third of a century to marry the woman he loves. The day he will be crowned King Charles III is subject to fate.
The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip says his childhood, was dreadful.
His years at Gordonstoun, the Scottish public school, founded by German educationalist Kurt Hahn, were by his account “unhappyâ€. Then followed the search for a “suitable†wife, who had to be young, of a certain social standing and if possible, a virgin.
Charles had known Camilla Parker Bowles for many years when he met the nursery school teacher, Diana Spencer, at a party in London in the late 1980s.
Indeed, accounts suggest it was Camilla, then still married to Andrew Parker Bowles, who urged Charles to propose to Diana. She was allegedly described by Camilla as “the little mouseâ€, suggesting she was innocent and humble enough to operate as a “birth-giving machine†for the monarchy, as author Andrew Morton put it.
Soon after he proposed, Charles is said to have sighed: “I could never feel for her what I feel for Camilla.â€
The unhappiness, according to Diana’s television testimony, they were “three in a marriage†was documented, culminating in the 1997 fatal accident that ended Diana’s life. If the British had always wondered about Charles’ strange ways, unconventional views on nature, the environment, medicine or architecture, they now blame his “selfishness†and lack of love for Diana. Charles withdrew from the public eye, scaled down his public appearances with Camilla and focused on his sons from the marriage with Diana, Prince William and Harry.
Opinion polls show just over 30% of Britons want Charles to be king, 42% say the monarchy should, for the first time, skip a generation and let the line of succession be continued by Prince William. His aides complain about lack of appreciation for the Prince’s Trust charity work. Instead, media focus on Charles’ shortcomings, alleged extravagance and private life.
“I thought the British were meant to be compassionate. I don’t see much of it,†Charles complained.
The queen, who reportedly believes her son has often “put his own interest before dutyâ€, has kept a perceptible distance from his decision to marry.
Though she approved, the monarch hasn’t concealed her concern. She, it is said, fears her remaining years on the throne could be “tarnished†by the unpopularity of the Charles-Camilla liaison.
It is known that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, considers his eldest son an “eccentric and a weaklingâ€.
The wedding is bound to place the couple under even greater public scrutiny.
But, as one seasoned royal-watcher predicted: “Charles will find over the coming years that he is pretty much alone.â€
dpa
It took him a third of a century to marry the woman he loves. The day he will be crowned King Charles III is subject to fate.
The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip says his childhood, was dreadful.
His years at Gordonstoun, the Scottish public school, founded by German educationalist Kurt Hahn, were by his account “unhappyâ€. Then followed the search for a “suitable†wife, who had to be young, of a certain social standing and if possible, a virgin.
Charles had known Camilla Parker Bowles for many years when he met the nursery school teacher, Diana Spencer, at a party in London in the late 1980s.
Indeed, accounts suggest it was Camilla, then still married to Andrew Parker Bowles, who urged Charles to propose to Diana. She was allegedly described by Camilla as “the little mouseâ€, suggesting she was innocent and humble enough to operate as a “birth-giving machine†for the monarchy, as author Andrew Morton put it.
Soon after he proposed, Charles is said to have sighed: “I could never feel for her what I feel for Camilla.â€
The unhappiness, according to Diana’s television testimony, they were “three in a marriage†was documented, culminating in the 1997 fatal accident that ended Diana’s life. If the British had always wondered about Charles’ strange ways, unconventional views on nature, the environment, medicine or architecture, they now blame his “selfishness†and lack of love for Diana. Charles withdrew from the public eye, scaled down his public appearances with Camilla and focused on his sons from the marriage with Diana, Prince William and Harry.
Opinion polls show just over 30% of Britons want Charles to be king, 42% say the monarchy should, for the first time, skip a generation and let the line of succession be continued by Prince William. His aides complain about lack of appreciation for the Prince’s Trust charity work. Instead, media focus on Charles’ shortcomings, alleged extravagance and private life.
“I thought the British were meant to be compassionate. I don’t see much of it,†Charles complained.
The queen, who reportedly believes her son has often “put his own interest before dutyâ€, has kept a perceptible distance from his decision to marry.
Though she approved, the monarch hasn’t concealed her concern. She, it is said, fears her remaining years on the throne could be “tarnished†by the unpopularity of the Charles-Camilla liaison.
It is known that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, considers his eldest son an “eccentric and a weaklingâ€.
The wedding is bound to place the couple under even greater public scrutiny.
But, as one seasoned royal-watcher predicted: “Charles will find over the coming years that he is pretty much alone.â€
dpa