Sir, I don’t expect the Royal Family to be perfect. However, when many of us are suffering from a lack of certainty in the fabric of contemporary society, when rules of family life are bent to suit seemingly selfish requirements, the least we can expect from those who have a constitutional responsibility is a dignified example.
How preferable it would have been, rather than have the crumbling fabric of the Established Church bend further with the wind and find compromise, to have had the Prince of Wales (letters, February 12, etc) simply step aside from his constitutional position to enjoy privacy and happiness by assuming the title of Duke of Windsor and allowing William to step into his shoes as Prince of Wales.
Yours faithfully,
ROY CAMPBELL,
57 Britannia Road, Fulham, SW6 2JR.
February 13.
From Mr John Christian
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Sir, The Prince of Wales has decided to marry Mrs Parker Bowles. I wish them many years of happiness.
However, it is now virtually impossible for him when he succeeds to the throne to be anointed Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith.
The Prince of Wales is himself reported to have said he would like to be “Defender of Faith” (report, July 11, 1994). Surely the time has now come for him to be so, but in a personal capacity. We have a part theocracy, a part democracy and a part benevolent monarchy. A multicultural and multi-religion population requires a secular society and that would be an ideal subject for a referendum.
Yours faithfully,
JOHN CHRISTIAN,
1c Talland Avenue,
Milton Keynes MK6 2ET.
February 12.
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From Mr A. F. Pallister
Sir, There is no doubt about the status of Camilla Parker Bowles when she becomes the wife of Prince Charles (report, February 14). She would become queen if he becomes king, unless legislation is passed to deprive her of the title or to allow her to give it up.
The marriage of a previous Prince of Wales, the son of George III, to Caroline of Brunswick in 1795 was a disaster from the beginning, and they soon separated.
When the Prince Regent became King, the estranged Caroline automatically became Queen, and the King could do nothing about it as she was still his wife.
Yours faithfully,
ALAN PALLISTER,
The Old Smithy, Balmaclellan,
Castle Douglas DG7 3QE.
February 14.
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From Professor Ian Markham
Sir, We must remember this basic ethical principle: we can only start at the place we are now at. We might all wish the past had been different, but that is irrelevant. The question now is this: do we want Prince Charles to have a wife or a girlfriend? I, for one, prefer the former.
Yours faithfully,
IAN MARKHAM,
(Dean), Hartford Seminary,
77 Sherman Street,
Hartford, Connecticut CT 06105.
February 14.