Charles hints at marrying Camilla

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JULY 7. It is arguably the most compelling British soap going and at the slightest hint that interest in it may have started to flag someone, somewhere - mostly the media, the players themselves or both - jerk it back into life. The latest twist in Prince Charles' roller-coaster affair with Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles is that he may indeed end up marrying the woman whose presence in his life blighted his marriage with Diana the ``people's princess'', killed in a car crash four years ago.

Royal watchers today cottoned on to his philosophical reflection on what ``the Good Lord'' may have up his sleeve for him, to suggest that wedding bells may be in the air, and Mrs. Bowles may well be on her way to becoming the Princess of Wales.

Feverish speculation dominated the British media following Prince Charles' interview to a tabloid in which when asked if he planned to remarry, he said: ``Will I be alive tomorrow? Who knows what the good Lord has planned? You can't be certain about anything. I don't know. I just think it is important, particularly as I get older, to think about the journey that's coming next.''

Well, well, well... Newspapers were certain that this was no careless throw of the dice. This was as deliberate as the Prince could get without ruffling too many feathers within and outside the Palace. ``The Prince of Wales today gave his strongest hint yet that he may one day marry Camilla Parker Bowles'', The Times said in a lead story with a double- barrel by-line reflecting its significance and the labour that apparently went into putting two and two together. And in The Daily Telegraph the ``hint'' was splashed under a six-column banner headline with a large picture of the Prince and Mrs. Bowles, glasses in hand, in what was described as ``close encounters.''

The interview in the Daily Mail follows a very public ``first kiss'' that the two recently exchanged at a function amid reports that a lot of backroom effort had gone into ``choreographing'' the event. First the kiss - really a gentle peck on the cheek which is so much the stuff of greeting between two middle-aged friends - and now this interview, there was enough smoke for the media to assume that there was a huge fire going on behind-the- scenes. The fact that the interview was conducted before the kiss took place seemed to make no difference. What came first was not important; what was important was that the there seemed to be a conscious attempt to get the affair out of the purdah.

``They (Prince Charles' remarks) will be seen as the latest step in the carefully orchestrated campaign to win public endorsement for his relationship with Mrs. Parker Bowles. Two weeks ago they kissed in public in view of photographers'', The Daily Telegraph declared.

According to the interviewer, Ms. Mary Riddell, the Palace officials were ``taken aback'' when she posed the question at the end of her hour-long interview on the occasion's of the 25th anniversary of the Prince's Trust.

Apparently, they tried to dissuade the Prince from answering but he went ahead and responded. Despite its deceptively philosophical gloss, his statement not ruling out remarriage is believed to be significant as this is the first time that he has not said ``no'' to the idea.

So, what are the constitutional hurdles if ``the Good Lord'' does decide in his favour? According to one expert quoted in The Times there are two problems: first, he would need the Queen's consent under the Royal Marriages Act and he was not sure if she would agree; and second, whether public opinion would accept Mrs. Bowles as Princess of Wales to replace Diana.

Another expert said that nothing, of course, prevented him from divesting himself of his royal duties and ``go off and do what he likes.''

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Section  : International
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