the sweetest tongue

Charles and Camilla, 2gether 4ever!

Friday, February 11th, 2005 | royal watching

Oh! Great news for royal-watchers everywhere! (I’m one, for those who don’t know. I read HELLO! Magazine.) The relationship status of Prince Charles and his companion Camilla Parker Bowles has finally been resolved! The couple, whose status has been in limbo for years, happily announced their engagement, and nuptials in April. Prince Charles, whose divorce from the Princess Diana was partly blamed on Camilla by Diana herself, has expressed his desire to be married to the true woman he loves, Camilla, also a divorcee from a previous marriage.

The issue has been a stickler for years, as even though the two are a couple, Prince Charles, as heir to the throne, had a particular status in which Camilla could not take part in. She has no title, and in particular functions, could not sit next to her beloved. There was a particular fiasco last year where she was barred from a christening of a royal, even though Prince Charles needed to be in attendance.

The two will be married in a civil ceremony (to be differentiated from an official ceremony in an Anglican Church), and later on blessed in a separate church service. Camilla will, upon her nuptials, receive the title of Duchess of Cornwall. Usually the wife of the prince of Wales (Charles) will receive the title of Princess of Wales, but this was a title which Diana retained on her divorce, and which will not be transferred a second time. Upon Charles’ ascension to the throne, Camilla will most likely receive the title of Princess Consort, not Queen, which could be rectified in the future by Parliament, if necessary. The Queen’s husband, Philip, actually does not have the title of King, but as Queen Consort, the Duke of Edinburgh. Polls have shown that the British people are warmer to the idea of Charles marrying his beloved (whom he met 30 years ago) than of Camilla becoming Queen, which is usually the custom of a male heir apparent and his consort.

Prince Charles’ children, the handsome Prince William and the rambunctious Prince Harry, have grown to accept Camilla into their family, and the Queen herself was one of the first to send her blessings after the announcement of the nuptials.

Personally, I find this to be a milestone in the Royal Family’s handling of sticky issues of status and tradition. I’ve been fascinated with royal families ever since I took and aced European History in high school. In reality, it’s just one big old soap opera playing out, and people who know me know that I just LOVE me some entangled webs of drama!

And on a sad note, Arthur Miller dies at 89.

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