The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Whatever I might think of Charles and Camilla (an opinion that, to be honest, fluctuates regularly) I must admit that by the end of last week, I was feeling immensely sorry for them.  They seemed, quite literally, to be cursed.  Not only was their official �engagement�, with all its pessimism, enough to give any couple nightmares but then Pope John Paul II died and the wedding had to be postponed a day.   

With the global worries and responsibilities that were His Holiness�s, it�s unlikely that his death was in anyway due to the wedding of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles but if historians discover that he was actually reading a collection of British tabloids moments before his decline, I shan�t be surprised.  It seemed that before Saturday, the lead up to this wedding and all its negativity would never end. 

I don�t know for how many years I could have endured the speculative nature of the world�s most notorious affair in recent times.  It might even surprise some to know that I gave up reading about the Wales love triangle before the late princess�s death.  Of course, Diana�s death had me back peeking at the headlines for a couple of months but soon after, my eyes began to glaze over if I saw any of the words - �Charles�, �Wales�, �Camilla�, �Tampon� in the headlines. 

How remarkable then, that the wedding was such a success.  I suppose a successful wedding is one where both protagonists show up at the venue but taking into consideration the lead up to the day, I could not have blamed them if both had decided stay in bed and munch on Duchy Orange biscuits.  I can only congratulate Camilla that she didn�t take up smoking again. Doubtlessly she must have had some cravings. 

As far as a royal marriage held in a registry office for a previously married prince and a divorced woman, who played a pivotal part in the breakdown of the groom�s first marriage and one where neither of  the groom�s parents (nor monarch) attended the actual royal wedding, it was miraculously a very fine affair. 

The bride, not noted for a peaches and cream complexion, looked beautiful. It was her day.  One that had taken thirty excruciating years to come about, at the cost of two marriages, an extraordinarily expensive (though spectacular) wedding at St Paul�s Cathedral, far too much limelight for that Hewitt bloke, goodness knows how many acres of the world�s forests and maybe a couple of years off the Queen�s life.   

This was it. Finally. The big day! � Well, another big day. 

A lot has been said about Camilla Parker Bowles, perhaps deservedly so but on Saturday there was no Wicked Witch of the West in attendance.  Instead, a nervous, very elegant woman took her place.  A few loud boos blotted the air � bad form whatever one thinks about the couple - as the car pulled up at the registry office  but they were quickly drowned out by the band. There was no hint of any grandiose character in the woman who was finally going to marry the man she loved. If anything the bride seemed self-effacing and unsure of what to do. 

Within seconds, they were out of the car, a quick wave to well-wishers and into the registry office, doors quickly closing behind them. 

What sort of royal wedding was this? 

As strange as it all seemed, everyone looked exceedingly happy.  The boys, who we had been told incessantly were not happy at all about the marriage, disembarked from the Number 52 from Windsor Castle to the Guild Hall with smiles and laughs with their favourite cousin, Zara, who, apart from the bride, was the woman who stood out in the crowd on the day.  Actually, even her formidable mother looked jolly.   

For me, two of the most curious people of the day, were Tom and Laura Parker Bowles.  Lot�s of time has been spent dwelling on how the two young princes may or may not have handled their father�s relationship but we know far less about Charles�s step children.  After all, it�s not every day that your mother marries the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, New Guinea, Barbados and Grenada.  And, while they will obviously play no official role in the monarchy, their lives from now on will be a little less free than in the past. 

How hard must it have been living through those difficult teenage years with a mother unofficially labelled bitch of the decade by the press and hated by most of the population?  Quite awful, I imagine and possibly a catalyst for Tom Barker Bowles� own affair with cocaine. But, there they were, looking far more comfortable in their new 'role' than their mother. 

It was very reassuring at the church blessing to see that Charles�s siblings and sons had as much sense of what it was they were meant to be doing as I did, sprawled on a sofa, watching the event.  I had never before seen all of them look so relaxed at an official event, chatting animatedly as they fumbled for their seats. William even blew a kiss to someone in the congregation.  In retrospect, I can only imagine that having Charles officially settle- down has possibly relieved some tension within The Firm. 

Finally, after two weddings (more or less) on one day, the Duchess of Cornwall emerged from St George�s Chapel and gave her first wave as a fully-fledged member of the royal family.  It was a very tentative twitch of the hand, as though she felt either uncomfortable performing the movement or no one had bothered to show her how.  While she was every bit the princess, in dress and name,  I had to concede to myself that her demeanour was hardly what I expected and it seemed to me, that becoming a princess was possibly not her driving priority.  It gave me, and I dare say others, reason to hope that this impossibly dreary and black period in the royal family might start to fade. 

We can only hope. 

So with that, God bless the soul of that extraordinary woman, Diana, who, faults and failings, was a light in our often dingy world and give Camilla the imagination and inspiration to make her own difference.  That way, in times to come, the pain endured over the past fifteen years might not seem to have been for nothing.

- Gioffredo