The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Saturday 26 March 2005

Sea Change: Titled and Tidal

Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles is about to become Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Cornwall.  Nothing of the former name shall remain in the new.  And as analogies go, it�s a good one; even if as realities go, it�s a bad one.  But before I continue, I have to say that this dribble about the �delightedness� of the Princes William and Harry is almost funny.  �Bored resignation� would probably be a more accurate description of their true feelings.  It is fun to imagine a press announcement from Clarence House that that in any way reflected the true feelings of the princes: �Princes William and Harry are apathetically resigned to the first-ever crowning of a rottweiler as Princess of Wales and wish the groom and his dog every happiness.�  But, we will have to leave it to our imaginations to write our own press release that approximates reality.  And if the ability to turn in a good public performance has been drilled into Will and Harry from birth, then come April 8 we will no doubt witness a public display of �delight� that could be worthy of a BAFTA or an Oscar.  

And yet there are those who claim that Camilla�s new role is not any different from her former role. It is suggested that she will merely fade into the background, and �her decision� to adopt the low-key title Duchess of Cornwall is meant to illustrate the point.  Well do forgive us for noting that her choice of title is nothing if not form over substance.  In point of fact, it is at her election that she foregoes use of the title that will rightly be hers: Princess of Wales.  Diana was herself also the Duchess of Cornwall.  And lest there be any doubt as to the real title soon to be bestowed upon Camilla, Parliament acknowledged earlier this week that should the unthinkable happen and Prince Charles become King, guess who will be Queen?  Once again as pertains to the charlatans that surround the Prince of Wales, reality belies presentation. And if there are two people on earth who recognize that a crafty use of titles cannot alter reality, it is the sons of the woman who was unceremoniously stripped of HRH status.  The reality of this marriage and the very real implications could not be clearer. It is not a mere formality. It is a hugely significant event, and will have large-scale implications for the monarchy. 

One need not think very hard to come up with various ways in which Camilla�s new position as senior most female member of the royal family, next to the Queen will impact the lives of all members of the royal family.  Upon first hearing the news, I began to compile a list, and then got so depressed with each new entry that I was unable to write my column.  Think of all the ways in which the matriarch of your family affects your life, and then multiply that by 10.  As Queen, Camilla will set the tone for family holidays, including deciding who is invited, who isn�t, and where the celebrations will take place.  One can imagine the power she will have to make life difficult for the princes� wives.  One can imagine the influence she will have over decisions taken by King Charles who has already demonstrated over and again his emotional dependence upon her even while married to someone else.  Her crafty use of Mark Bolland as her mouthpiece during his stint at the News of the World cannot be overstated.  It should be noted that Bolland, who recently had the nerve to refer to someone else in the Prince�s household as a �Rasputin�, resigned his position at the tabloid a few short weeks after Camilla finally grabbed the brass ring.  Her lame media manipulations will grow and evolve as she continues to do what she can to demonstrate the power she wields.      

But before we start proclaiming the �end of the monarchy� I think it is important to note the silver lining surrounding some of these clouds. First, I take comfort in knowing that the Lord Chancellor has decried that the Human Rights Act of 2000 applies to royal princes too.  While it is hard, no impossible, to imagine a worse Princess of Wales, Camilla�s ascension to this role basically ensures that William and Harry will have total autonomy in choosing their own wives.  After all, most of us can agree that if Camilla is fit for the job, then anything goes.  The second source of comfort for me lies in the poetry of justice.  For no matter how much power Queen Camilla has, and no matter how hard she tries to mask that power by calling herself some made-up term like �Princess Consort�, the fact remains that one person will always have more power than her: Prince William.  He may not realize that yet, but she certainly does. Why else would she so clearly want to keep him on side?   

By way of example, while it has been suspiciously Bolland�s poison pen which has crucified Prince Harry in the press, (who coincidentally despises  �the goat� as she is affectionately known by him), William somehow escapes Bolland�s scrutiny unscathed.  In fact, the ever �pragmatic� William isn�t above utilizing Camilla�s mouthpiece to send his own messages.  It would be hard to find a better example of that than when Bolland penned a directive a few weeks ago to the head of the British Olympic Committee.  Appearing as a blurb in his weekly column, Bolland advised him to lay off William about joining the effort.--William, you see, �makes up his own mind.�  Well, not quite.  In fact, William�s use of Bolland to send his own messages really illustrates the degree to which he is himself somewhat cowed by his future stepmother.  But at some point he will realize that her perceived power is mostly smoke and mirrors.  For while Charles� marriage to Camilla could never throw the monarchy into crisis, William�s public dismay at her and/or the way in which she conducts herself after she is married to his father, certainly could.  And they know it.  At some point in time, assuming William and Harry grow up ever, they will too.  However, in order to clinch the deal they will have no choice but to appreciate the importance of drawing the distinctions through their own actions between behavior embraced by Charles and his rottweiler, versus that expected by the people they serve.  And perhaps in so doing, Diana through her sons will have finally found a way to bring that bitch �I mean dog, �of course -- to heel.

- Elizabeth W. King

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Regarding the Harry Column:

A little nostalgia for lost Empire is not misplaced...but it ought to be tempered with some understanding that its loss is due to leaders exhibiting the sort of cluelessness that leads people to do things like dress up like the enemies who killed and wounded the soldiers fighting under Earl Alexander of Tunis and Viscount Montgomery of El Alamein...who would doubtless not have been amused.

Louis E.

Thank you for your excellent article about Harry and the atrocious British aristocracy, who feel that everything is permitted within their brainless, cruel, and selfish circle�Your article is widely appreciated.

Torasa

Good for you for laying it on the line about William and Harry.
Harry should have known better. There is no excuse. And the article entitled "Won't" was so good I needed a cigarette afterwards.

D. Aura