Charles & Camilla: How has your opinion changed since the wedding?

[Hereditary Thane]

It hasn't (changed). Come back Magda Lupescu all is forgiven.

 

[LadyHylton]

It was in a number of online papers (otherwise I would never have read it). I read the Daily Mail, the Telegraph and the Express every day and I am fairly sure it was in more than one of those. I don't remember it being the day before but remember it going on for a couple of days not one.

There was an investigation into Charles' expenditure at the time and it came out in that investigation.

I was in London at the time & did not bother to go online, so I really have no idea. I do know there were actually two Daily Mail articles in the February 9th paper. I think the other was an editorial. I seem to remember one earlier in the week. And I do believe another paper had the article as well. The first article was back in January. Some MP raising the question...At least four articles if we are getting precise... Very well could have been in the Express as well. I remember the other was downgraded from the Daily Mail status..Anyway, I do remember I saved them all...Anything to do with the royal family I save. Actually the announcement stopped the investigation cold in its track, as it should have. It should have never started to begin with!

 

[Iluvbertie]

I was in London at the time & did not bother to go online, so I really have no idea. I do know there were actually two Daily Mail articles in the February 9th paper. I think the other was an editorial. I seem to remember one earlier in the week. And I do believe another paper had the article as well. The first article was back in January. Some MP raising the question...At least four articles if we are getting precise... Very well could have been in the Express as well. I remember the other was downgraded from the Daily Mail status..Anyway, I do remember I saved them all...Anything to do with the royal family I save. Actually the announcement stopped the investigation cold in its track, as it should have. It should have never started to begin with!

Exactly - the whole idea of the Duchy of Cornwall estate is to provide the heir with a private income.

I remember thinking at the time - are they going to do a similar investigation to the expenditure of other peers whose estates provide them with their private incomes e.g. The Duke of Devonshire and Earl Spencer

 

[HM Queen Catherine]

Personally, my opinion of Camilla has not changed. I do think she has taken on her duties gracefully and has endeavored to really be a part of the The Firm. She seems to have made a favorable impression on Prince William and Prince Harry, which I'm sure was very important to The Prince of Wales and The Queen.

But. I do not like her. And there is probably nothing she could ever do to induce me to change my mind.

It has long been my opinion that both Charles and Camilla have been duplicitous in their dealings with the public and with their personal relations.. with Diana.. with Andrew Parker-Bowles.. and with their own children..

So I was glad to see them finally marry and cut out the decades of deceit by legitimizing their relationship.

But. I still do not like her. And that is purely my own opinion.

Regardless.. it makes absolutely no difference to me that they decided she would be HRH The Duchess of Cornwall..

Legally, as the wife of the heir to the throne, she is HRH The Princess of Wales. If the Firm didn't want her to be known by that title, then that was their choice and she consented to that.

It will also make no difference what she is called if and when Charles becomes king. Legally she will be Queen, and if she chooses to be known by a lesser title, then that will be a decision that she and Charles make together.

I have no doubt that she will be crowned when the time comes, whether she is known as Queen Consort or Princess Consort. And without Queen Elizabeth and most likely without The Duke of Edinburgh around, I do believe Charles will want his wife to be of equal rank.

It does occur to me, however, that the last "mistress" who became Queen was Anne Boleyn.. and we all know what a disaster that turned out to be.. so here's hoping they tread lightly and respectfully of the British people when the real decisions have to be made..

 

[Lumutqueen]

You can hardly compare a present day Duchess to Anne Boleyn.
What exactly have you got against Camilla may I ask?

You say in your post about her titles and that it does not bother you, so what have you got against her?

 

[Warren]

I know some papers tried to make an issue out of Charles buying things for Camilla but I was requesting substantiation of the bolded part of this statement:

I read that Camilla divorce lawyer told her to put all her money in the home she bought after her divorce forcing Prince Charles to support her.

 

[MARG]

It has long been my opinion that both Charles and Camilla have been duplicitous in their dealings with the public and with their personal relations.. with Diana.. with Andrew Parker-Bowles.. and with their own children..

Could you perhaps expand on this accepting that it is based on your opinion?

 

[HM Queen Catherine]

You can hardly compare a present day Duchess to Anne Boleyn.
What exactly have you got against Camilla may I ask?

You say in your post about her titles and that it does not bother you, so what have you got against her?

I was not comparing Camilla to Anne Boleyn.. that was just an observation.

And you are quite correct.. I couldn't care less what they call her - now or in the future. That's just semantics, because legally she is Charles' consort and holds an equal rank by courtesy.. which she will continue to hold until his death

It is my opinion that the Duchess of Cornwall is not suitable to be Queen Consort.. and I will leave it at that.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Why is she not suitable?

 

[Iluvbertie]

Why is she not suitable?

I agree with this question - why is she not suitable?

 

[georgiea]

I know some papers tried to make an issue out of Charles buying things for Camilla but I was requesting substantiation of the bolded part of this statement:

Force Prince Charles for financial support was gotten from articles before the engagement. The former Ms Parker-Bowles was told by her divorce lawyer to buy a estate with her divorce settlement and not to worry because Prince Charles would take care of her. Prince Charles's publicly talked of their love relationship in his TV interview and that resulted in divorce for Camilla. Because of the public disclosure the lawyer was sure that Prince Charles would be forced to pay for her. Ms Parker-Bowles also lost most of her inheritance in the recession of 2003. The articles also said the money given for Camilla's upkeep from the Duchy was going to be investigated. I think this finally got Prince Charles to changed his mind and marriage the Duchess. I didn't or don't know how Duchy money can be spent.

 

[Lumutqueen]

She is serene, she is elegant, she handles her role perfectly. She knows where her place is unlike Diana. She stands by Prince Charles constantly as does not question what she has to do. She has bonded with the family and his children perfectly fine from what I see. She loves the country side, family occasions and respects the traditions that the monarchy upholds.

 

[georgiea]

When I first saw Ms Parker-Bowles with Prince Charles after the divorce I was not on their side. I was on Diana, Princess of Wales side. Yes, I am a Diana Fan, but I think that Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and very happy together. I just wish they could have married before they married other persons and hurt families. I know Diana, Princess of Wales would have accepted them and moved on with her life, but she died before that happened. But since their wedding their royal engagements are fun to follow because how happy a couple they seem.

 

[Lumutqueen]

But you if you wish to alter the past, the future will change aswell.
If Diana had not married Charles, thinks may have been very very different.
They only reason, if i am correct, that Charles and Camilla did not marry is because at her debutante ball or perhaps her 18th she "lost her flower" to ABP.

I wish however like you that Camilla had married Charles and Princess Anne had married Andrew.

 

[love_cc]

Me too. I am also wonder what if Anne and Andrew got married(Andrew not Roman Cathelic) and Charle and Camilla got married(he made up his mind about Camilla and propose when he was back in 1973).

P.S Camila probably did not lose her virginity to Andrew but Kevin Burke I believe. There is a daily mail article about what if Charles and Camilla got married in 1973.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Thats not what i've been told

 

[LadyHylton]

Prince Charles gave the Duchess, I believe, two million dollars, in December 2004, as he was worried what would become of her if something should happen to him. I don't think HRH was 'forced' into anything money wise. The only issue with the inquiry was the expenses the Duchess incurred by living at Clarence House. It is very much the same monies for two to live together as one, as we all know.

 

[LadyHylton]

To answer the question, I would love to see Camilla do more public speaking. That is what the public needs to see, so they would feel like they know her better.

And Charles looks so relaxed & happy. I wouldn't have believed it until I saw the results for myself. A win-win suitation.

 

[Osipi]

But you if you wish to alter the past, the future will change aswell.
If Diana had not married Charles, thinks may have been very very different.
They only reason, if i am correct, that Charles and Camilla did not marry is because at her debutante ball or perhaps her 18th she "lost her flower" to ABP.

The one reason that Charles and Camilla didn't marry back then were for multiple reasons I believe.

1) Camilla had her sights set on APB. Both Camilla and Anne were linked to him back then.
2) Charles listened to a man he respected and loved.
3) Charles at the time put duty first and did the away at sea time.
4) At that time and age Camilla was comfortable in her own skin and perhaps Charles was not. The friendship that lasted for years before any adultery happened was because Camilla was one person he could be intimate with on a platonic level. Its that closeness I think Diana was really put out by.

Now for how my opinion has changed. Been meaning to do this for a while.

Basically watching the fairy tale of the century was a reality show back then for a young housewife. I was glued to the TV. Was very disappointed in the dress,, she looked like a marshmallow but I digress. OK.. so no happy ever after. When the Wars of the Wales were going on, my marriage was crumbling also so of course Diana was the wronged one.. and Camilla the 'rottweiler" Charles was in a stupid fantasy about being a tampon. Men were stupid anyhow, My ex tried to solicit a Detroit cop, Go figure. When Charles and Camilla became engaged and then married my term of reference for Camilla was "Bride of Chucky" (a horror film).

Almost 2 years ago I joined this forum. Why? The British royalty and history have always had a strong draw for me. My Fair Lady and Ascot. Them hats! I did find the hats and also a whole wealth of people with a lot of information to share. Through these forums here a lot of my opinion on Charles and Camilla has changed.

Charles no longer is just a big eared wanna be tampon. He's a man that for a long time has seriously believed that if we don't treasure the earth we live on, we may lose it. He's expressed the desire to be a Defender of Faith rather than Defender of the Faith which to me shows that he embraces people on a personal level and their choice to believe whatever they do. For this I'd say he's the People's Prince. Although it was not required, he did care enough to fly to Paris to escort the remains of his ex wife back to her home.

Now Camilla. As we all know.. its spanned decades. This is a woman that he could be close to because she's down to earth, can say what she feels and would and could tease him into being like her and say what he feels.
That's what good friends do. He found something in his life that perhaps he'd never seen before.. someone that just saw Charles and cared to listen. She knows his life and no matter what has never crossed the line in any way to bring attention to herself and her life with Charles.

Dollar to donuts today Charles could say honestly with a sly grin he knows what love is.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Well I did not expect that much of a reply from one little statement.
I have always liked Camilla, mainly because she seems more like the royal wife. She loves the country, she loves horses, she loves polo all the royal events if you like. She looks stunning wearing a tiara, she suits engagements whether rain or shine.

Charles is a wonderful man, and I always thought that when he was married to Diana, he lost his place. He is the heir to the throne, and his wife should not over shadow him. Again Camilla doesn't do that, she knows her place. He will be a wonderful King, with a wonderful wife by his side.

 

[Osipi]

Ah sometimes i do tend to get long winded but those thoughts have been building up for a while.
I agree with you she's exactly what a consort should be. He'll not need 2 of Camilla to walk each side of the road .. they walk together.

 

[AshleyAthena]

I like Camilla more and more since the wedding. I think she has an inner strength that has shown as she's become more comfortable with the 'royal life' and makes a great consort. I also think that she loves Charles the man, and considers him her best friend, which is always what you need in life.

 

[LadyHylton]

Prince Charles gave the Duchess, I believe, two million dollars, in December 2004, as he was worried what would become of her if something should happen to him. I don't think HRH was 'forced' into anything money wise. The only issue with the inquiry was the expenses the Duchess incurred by living at Clarence House. It is very much the same monies for two to live together as one, as we all know.

Charles gave Camilla two million in December. A little more than a week later, on Christmas Day, there was one more reference to the gift of two million PLUS the announcement that Charles had decided to marry Camilla. Since it was on Christmas Day it totally flew below the radar. I was surprised that there was no mention of it anywhere. It was the following month, late in January that the MP wanted an investigation into Charles' finances. I thought, "How silly. He has already stated his intentions of marriage, & a man has a right to spend whatever he so desires, especially on his future wife!" So really, it was ridiculous before it even started.

 

[muriel]

Are you able to provide any back-up information to sopport your statement?

 

[Iluvbertie]

You mean people don't know this? I would have thought this was common knowledge. I guess everyone was too busy with Christmas at the time. But it was most definitely online. I printed everything out as it happened. It was on all the internet via a google search. But the sources all came from England. The tabloids all picked up the story about the money here but oddly none of them reported the decision to marry.

I googled "Prince Charles" "December 25, 2004" and the article is not coming up. Unfortunately my links were on my old computer. I will continue to look however. Nonetheless, let me state, HRH was a perfect gentleman. It just surprised me that it was there & no one had noticed over the Christmas holidays.

The reason no one noticed it at Christmas was that it wasn't announced until February.
Do you really think that an annoucement made at Christmas wouldn't have been front page headlinesd around the world? At Christmas the expectation and the predictions all related to William announcing that he would be marrying Kate.

 

[love_cc]

In my understanding, Prince Charles used the christmas holiday to talk to his mother, his sons and his family about his decision to marry Camilla and then he proposed on New Year. 3

The engagement news was intended to be announced on 14/02/2005, but after the news was published on a local newspaper, then Clarence House decided to announce the engagement news on 10/02/2005.

 

[Fürstin Taxis]

When I watched the wedding on YouTube again, I was quite shocked how
disrespectful the users are. People who said good things on Camilla get angry e-mails.
That´s just stupid.
They act like those people who were against Edward and Wallis.

 

[agogo]

It seems as if most people have just accepted and moved on. It is hard to forget Diana, and as time passes, her legacy becomes sweeter. After Queen Elizabeth accepted Camilla, so did most of the public.

 

[muriel]

It seems as if most people have just accepted and moved on....... After Queen Elizabeth accepted Camilla, so did most of the public.

Quite right.

 

[nascarlucy]

My opinion about her hasn't changed that much. I think both Prince Charles and Princess Diana shared blame equally in the breakup of their marriage. I think Prince Charles has always loved Camilla.