With glacial slowness, Camilla Parker Bowles
has been coming in from the cold. By dint of a public appearance here,
a royal invitation there and in May a speech at an international conference
on osteoporosis, the woman Prince Charles has loved for 30 years is
gradually taking her place as official partner to the future King.
It has been a tentative process. It was not until January 1999 that
the couple risked a brief public appearance together; the first public
kiss came two-and-a-half years later. But then the relationship that
Charles once said was "non-negotiable" has faced formidable hurdles
in the shape of disapproval from Queen, country and Church. At the
time of Princess Diana's death nearly five years ago, there was widespread
hostility toward the woman Diana blamed for the breakup of her 15-year
marriage and reportedly dubbed "the rottweiler." "There were three
of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," Diana famously told
the BBC in 1996 to huge sympathy.
Today, Diana's memory has somewhat faded and the down-to-earth Camilla
has won general, if sometimes grudging, acceptance with the help of
her own low profile and the highly developed skills of Mark Bolland,
Charles' former spin doctor. The news that Princes Harry and William
apparently accept her quite happily has helped. Charles' great-great-grandfather
Edward VII had an open affair when he was Prince of Wales with Camilla's
great-grandmother Alice Keppel, but those days have long gone. At
first, the Queen's policy was to keep her son's 54-year-old lover
at a distance in public. But Camilla was invited to the Queen Mother's
funeral in Westminster Abbey in April, though she was not seated with
the royals. This week, however, Camilla will sit with Charles at a
jubilee concert hosted by the Queen in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The couple's attendance at a musical evening at the palace in the
presence of the Queen in March was seen as significant enough, but
the "Prom at the Palace" will be televised and the Queen's public
acceptance of Camilla and Charles' relationship will be seen by millions.
Such a thaw must come as a huge relief to the couple, but whether
marriage is now on the cards is still unclear. There was much excitement
last July when Charles, who had previously made it known he had no
intention of remarrying, suddenly refused to rule out the idea. "Who
knows what the good Lord has planned?" Charles told the Daily Mail.
"You can't be certain about anything."
Last week, bookmaker William Hill was giving a wedding the shortest
odds yet, with the dates of 2003 or 2004 joint favorites at 2-1, and
7-4 odds that the couple will leave it to 2006 or later. "Let's face
it," says William Hill's Graham Sharp. "It's not a question of if
they'll marry, but when." If the couple really do plan on marrying,
the biggest hurdle will be ecclesiastical. As King, Charles will become
Supreme Governor of the Church of England, which holds that divorcees
cannot marry as long as a spouse is living. Camilla's former husband
Andrew — they were divorced in 1995 — is very much alive.
The rule, which in practice is often ignored at the discretion of
the priest, might well be eased at the church's General Synod in July.
Nevertheless, many believe that the head of the church should set
an example. Former Archdeacon of York George Austin, who 10 years
ago caused a rumpus by questioning whether Charles could take coronation
vows if he had broken his wedding ones, believes that Charles should
become King and should marry Camilla, but not in church. "It's a better
example for the heir to the throne to be married, rather than to be
living with his mistress, but they should marry in a civil ceremony
so it does not undermine the church's position on divorce," Austin
says.
Marriage is one thing, but Camilla as Queen? It is something friends
say she does not want, and it's a proposition that Robert Worcester,
chairman of the MORI polling organization, says is "a long way from
being won." A poll for Channel 4 News by the market research firm
NOP last month found that 55% of those surveyed favor the marriage,
with Charles remaining King, but of those, only 15% think Camilla
should be Queen; another 33% believe Charles should marry Camilla
as long as he renounces the throne. Constitutionalists argue that
the wife of a sovereign by definition must be Queen. But as Worcester
notes, Britain does not have a written constitution and Charles could
volunteer to leave the title unused. Says Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing
director of Burke's Peerage: "Though it would require the decision
of the sovereign to drop the title, Camilla could get around this
by simply never using it and instead perhaps being known as the Duchess
of Truro — or some other such Cornish town, since Charles is
the Duke of Cornwall."
Brooks-Baker wonders whether all this worry will be superfluous since
53-year-old Charles may never become King, given the Queen's potential
longevity (her own mother lived to age 101) and the belief that she
will never step down. And if the idea of Camilla as Queen has its
doubters, what about Charles as King? A year ago, MORI asked the public
which members of the royal family they liked most, and for the first
time since 1984 Charles almost matched his mother's score at the top
of the list. Since Diana's death, Charles has redeemed himself in
the public eye with the obvious affection he engenders in his sons.
His dedication to his Prince's Trust, which helps disadvantaged young
people, may not get many headlines, but it is quietly appreciated
by those who know about it and benefit from it. Few now laugh at his
passion for gardening — Charles talking to plants was once a
favorite joke — and find his belief in organic farming and interest
in religions more progressive than quirky. Less serene and sure-footed
than his mother, Charles has often seem wracked with self-doubt. But
friends say Camilla is good for him, that he lights up when she is
around, that she relaxes him. "There's no doubt she is the love of
his life," says Austin. A king of good heart with a loving woman —
Queen or otherwise — beside him should satisfy most Britons
enough to see the monarchy continue.
