Britons voice doubt on Charles as king
WINDSOR, England -- With preparations for the wedding Saturday of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles entering high gear, Britons are pondering the future of the monarchy. And for many, the more they think about it, the more they have doubts about a future King Charles.
Even in Windsor, a town about 25 miles west of London in the shadow of the queen's official residence, where shops hawk replicas of the royal crown and Prince Charles's favorite kilt, the view of the Prince of Wales is decidedly negative.
''You're marrying a divorcee," Mark Keating, 34, manager of a photo shop, said in a message directed at Prince Charles. ''I'm not going to respect you as my king. And I'm certainly not going to respect her [Parker Bowles] as my queen."
He added: ''They've been having this affair for thirty-odd years. It just seems dirty."
Joe Cross, 18, a student in Windsor, said: ''I think people just don't like him. They like the queen; they like his sons. They want to bypass him."
While Charles could abdicate and relinquish the throne to his son, William, he is widely perceived as intent on becoming king. And unlike King Edward VIII, who voluntarily stepped aside in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, Charles has the support of the British government to marry Parker Bowles.
In today's government, when the monarchy is little more than a symbol of tradition, many specialists say that the power of the royals depends upon public opinion. ''Monarchy ultimately rests upon a social base and has to remain credible and convincing to the subjects over whom it reigns," historian Tristram Hunt wrote in last week's Sunday Times.
Unfortunately for Charles, his well-documented relationship with Parker Bowles appears to have hurt his national reputation. According to a national poll conducted in late February for the conservative Daily Telegraph newspaper, only 30 percent of Britons say they want Charles to eventually become king.
A series of logistical blunders apparently have added to the unease. Only a week after it was announced the wedding would take place at Windsor Castle, the couple was forced to change the venue to the Windsor Town Hall because of licensing complications.
Adding insult to injury, the queen announced in late February that she would not attend the ceremony. While a Buckingham Palace statement said this was because the couple ''wanted to keep the occasion low key," the decision was widely perceived as a snub.
Even beyond his relationship with Parker Bowles, Charles's public persona has inspired criticism.
But personal dislike of Charles doesn't seem to stop the vast majority of Britons from wanting to maintain the monarchy.
''I think we ought to preserve our history," said D. Boyle, 62, a retiree who sells decorative pillows as a hobby in Windsor. ''It's why people come here. It's part of what we are."
But Boyle wants a monarch that she says is more in tune with Britain. ''I think someone like William, who's gone to school, has led more of an ordinary life. A lot of it was Diana's doing. It helps him connect to ordinary people."
