Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall Current Events 5: September-October 2005

[caroline mathilda]

What a ridiculous comment! Brits don't really care what people in the US think about 'their' royal family. The British Royals have no relevance to Americans so why would anyone think that there was some sort of PR value in one royal or another being popular in the US.

The "Brits" who stand to make money from the American tourist care about Americans' impressions of the Royal Family as surveys in the States have shown that the Royal Family is a MAJOR draw for traveling Americans to Britain.

Whether it is "ridiculous" or not, the Prince of Wales' handlers are acutely aware of the popularity of the late Princess of Wales and the controversy in the US surrounding the relationship of Camilia Parker-Bowles and the Prince of Wales. Hence the massive pre-trip publicity in the States. They are indeed working very hard to at least soften if not romanticize the couple's status. I think it is very clever strategy.

 

[ysbel]

tiaraprin,
Given the fact that Charles & Diana were on good terms when she died and that she had expressed her wish that he & Camilla should marry

wymanda,

I'm not so sure about that. But my accepting or not accepting Camilla is not going to depend on whether Charles and Diana were on good terms when she died.

I am not so much pro or anti Diana or Camilla as I am anti-hysteria. Having been close to a nasty marriage breakup where we didn't know who to believe, I agree that its good to take it all with a hefty bucket of salt.

I'm not so fond of the royal family embarking on a campaign to promote tourism. I think it cheapens the monarchy. But after the London bombs, they probably felt they had to do something.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Good Morning America (ABC) in the United States will be broadcasting live from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House all this coming week as a lead up to the visit by Charles and Camilla.

This is the first time an American news medium has ever been allowed to broadcast from within any royal residence.

I will have to tape it every day this week.

This is really cool and I am looking forward to seeing Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson's take on the rooms they will be broadcasting from.

 

[BeccaLynn07]

Good Morning America (ABC) in the United States will be broadcasting live from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House all this coming week as a lead up to the visit by Charles and Camilla.

This is the first time an American news medium has ever been allowed to broadcast from within any royal residence.

I will have to tape it every day this week.

This is really cool and I am looking forward to seeing Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson's take on the rooms they will be broadcasting from.

Thanks so much for the information, Lady Marmalade! Is there anyway to post what you record or is there any word if it will be on the ABC website? I won't be able to see it....I have to leave in the morning before Good Morning America is on.

 

[michelleq]

I personally think that the Crown should not allow this. Have a documentary (as they have done) and possibly sell it for Various Charities throughout the world.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Thanks so much for the information, Lady Marmalade! Is there anyway to post what you record or is there any word if it will be on the ABC website? I won't be able to see it....I have to leave in the morning before Good Morning America is on.

Hi!

Well, I know in Chicago Good Morning America is on from 7 till 9. I leave for work at 7 so I know the feeling.

I am not sure what time during this period they will be focusing on the royals and the castles, but since they will be broadcasting from them, I would say throughout the whole program.

Here is the article from Reuters:

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. breakfast TV show "Good Morning America" is to be broadcast live from Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle -- and the Queen very much approves.

The Queen will not be in residence at either of her English homes when the show goes out -- she is currently at her Balmoral residence in Scotland -- but believes the coverage could boost UK tourism.

Officials have been concerned that the July suicide bombings in the capital could prompt many tourists to stay away.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "We're delighted that ABC has agreed to broadcast their flagship breakfast programme from the UK, especially at such an important time for the tourist industry."

The show, given full approval by the Queen, will be broadcast live next Thursday from Windsor Castle's state rooms and switch the next day to the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.



© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

 

[BeccaLynn07]

Hi.

Hmm, well I hope someone will be able to post it or ABC will...thanks for the article.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

My pleasure. If I am able to, I will try to post them on here. I hope it works, cause I will certainly try.

I am looking forward to seeing the interiors.

I would love to see the changes Camilla has made to Highgrove, Castle of Mey, and Clarence House.

Does anyone know if any recent pictures have been published in regards to the interiors?

I know Warren is good with finding out the most difficult of answers....so c'mon Warren!

 

[Elspeth]

I think the Castle of Mey has been handed over to a trust to run, so I doubt that Camilla has any say in what goes on there as far as interior decoration is concerned. As far as Clarence House is concerned, isn't part of it going to be open to the public at some point? Even if their private apartments aren't included in that part of the house, Camilla's influence might be seen in the parts that are opened, assuming Charles lets anything of his beloved granny's be altered.

 

[iowabelle]

I had the impression that some rooms of Clarence House had been opened already, and they were pretty much decorated to the taste of the Queen Mother.

Who knows what has happened in the private quarters. Maybe Laurence Lewellyn-Bowen has appeared and created a red and zebra-striped boudoir for the Duchess. (More probably, Annabel Elliott.)

 

[caroline mathilda]

My pleasure. If I am able to, I will try to post them on here. I hope it works, cause I will certainly try.

I am looking forward to seeing the interiors.

I would love to see the changes Camilla has made to Highgrove, Castle of Mey, and Clarence House.

Does anyone know if any recent pictures have been published in regards to the interiors?

I know Warren is good with finding out the most difficult of answers....so c'mon Warren!

I know that Hello magazine had photos of Birkhall ( the house on Balmoral estate which the Queen Mum left to Charles) with the renovations which had been made by Camilla and Charles. These photos occured around the time of their April wedding.
Caroline

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Caroline Mathilde, Elspeth and Iowabelle, thank you all for the information.

Elsepth you are in a good place because if they open Clarence House and you live near London you can go inside and see and then tells all the details.

I heard somewhere Annbel Elliot was given the job of redecorating some of the cottages one some land that is part of the Duchy of Cornwall and some people raised a red flag on it....has anyone heard anything to that effect?

I love Changing Rooms and think I would only let Graham what's his name from the earlier seasons, redecorate a room in my home....the man has done up some beautiful rooms over the years.

So I guess we will have to wait and see if ever get a glimpse of the rooms then.

 

[Warren]

Who knows what has happened in the private quarters. Maybe Laurence Lewellyn-Bowen has appeared and created a red and zebra-striped boudoir for the Duchess. (More probably, Annabel Elliott.)

That's cheeky! With Jackie Collins as design consultant?

Clarence House was revamped (painting, wiring, security etc) because not much maintenance was done for many years. It's a long time since I have seen anything of the inside of Highgrove. This is strictly private.

 

[Idriel]

Panorama Video

Click on watch the video to see the panorama programme in its integrality.

From the BBC

A Right Royal Shambles?



They thought they had the law, the Church, and the press firmly on side. But when it comes to weddings anyone's plans can go awry. Panorama tells the inside story of the wedding of The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Those in the know - from former Attorney General Sir Nicholas Lyell to royal biographer Jonathan Dimbleby - explain why a marriage, decades in the making, led to a six week rollercoaster ride that almost ended in disaster. For Prince Charles, the potential risks of a controversial marriage were becoming outweighed by the obvious disadvantages of living in sin. And having spent many turbulent years attempting to win the public round to his relationship with Camilla, the Heir to the Throne might have thought the road to his wedding would be relatively straightforward. But as Panorama reveals, nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[Charlotte1]

The "Brits" who stand to make money from the American tourist care about Americans' impressions of the Royal Family as surveys in the States have shown that the Royal Family is a MAJOR draw for traveling Americans to Britain.

Hence the massive pre-trip publicity in the States. They are indeed working very hard to at least soften if not romanticize the couple's status. I think it is very clever strategy.

Surveys may show that the reason why Americans visit the UK is because of the Royal Family but there is no correlation between various royals popularity in the US and Americans travelling to the UK. If there were, there would have been a downturn of Americans travelling to the UK after Diana's death ( she was probably the most popular with Americans) or a downturn in the late 80's and through the '90's when the whole royal soap opera was happening. The popularity of the royals sunk to the lowest level ever but the amount of Americans travelling to the US increased or remained at the same level as previous years. It depends on what years you look at.
What has brought about the fact that Americans aren't travelling to the UK has nothing to do with the popularity or unpopularity of various royals in the US. In 2000 4.1 millions Americans visited the UK, by 2004 it was down to 3.6 million and after the July bombings is likely to drop again this year. ( Figures from the Times newspaper) What has stopped Americans from travelling to the UK is world events, 9/11, Foot & mouth, BSE( Mad cow disease) SARS, threat of bird flu and the Iraq war. Plus the British pound is quite strong against the US dollar and so makes the UK an expensive destination for American tourists.

What massive pre-trip publicity in the States???????
We don't even have a date when they're going to be in the States! Nor an itinerary of where and what they are doing. ( What has been said is pure media speculation, "they're visiting 3 cities New York, Washington DC and San Francisco. Probably paying their respects at Ground Zero and having either lunch or dinner at the White House") Charles has given one interview to 60 Minutes which hasn't been broadcast yet. Or have I missed the American Vogue fashion spread done by Camilla, or the exclusive interview to Vanity Fair or Camilla bearing her soul on Oprah or Charles and Camilla being witty and charming on the Tonight Show or Letterman or Camilla bonding with the women on The View??? I could go on.

American breakfast TV broadcasting from royals palaces is to promote British tourism not C & C ( are they joint hosts?!)

I'm sure there'll be extensive coverage once they're in the States but by no stretch of the imagination could it be said that there has been massive pre-trip publicity, like I said no-one except the organisers of the trip even know the dates of the trip or events planned!

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Good point Charlotte1. Now I am starting to wonder if they are in fact coming to visit. I checked his website and there is no mention of the visit and something on this scale would have been planned for a while....wonder if we all have been Punk'd?

 

[iowabelle]

There were cries of nepotism about letting Camilla's sister decorate the cottages belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, so I think they stopped letting her do the decor there.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Thanks Laura. I thought I was only dreaming that I read about that story, so thank you for confirming.

Nicole

 

[iowabelle]

Camilla on Oprah? That would be a sight.

I bet Oprah still regrets that she couldn't get Diana to come on, I know she badgered the Princess for a long time.

 

[Warren]

Closing down!

I am closing this thread as it is now "full".

The new thread can be found here:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7432