CAMILLA AND CHARLES
(Comments: tony.papard@btinternet.com)
His Royal Crown Her Royal Crown
So Camilla Parker-Bowles and Charles Windsor are to be married after all, and the Establishment has altered all its rules to avoid the possibility of a Queen Camilla sitting on the throne alongside her husband.
Even so, the prospect of two adulterous divorcees getting married and one of them becoming King and the other one his 'Princess Consort' seems to disturb the majority of people in this country, according to an opinion poll taken the day their forthcoming marriage was announced. The majority would prefer William to become King when the Queen dies or abdicates.
I suggest this majority therefore vote for a Republic, or at least a new innovation - an 'elected monarchy', then they can choose who they want as Head of State. The system of monarchy as it stands works on the hereditary principle, and also favors males over females. That is why it is so undemocratic, and so unsatisfactory. If the people are going to be allowed to choose who they want for Head of State, then monarchy becomes redundant. An 'elected monarchy' would merely be a republic in all but name, with the Head of State being elected but retaining the title and trappings of royalty until he or she was voted out of office, much like a Carnival Queen.
Of course, the hereditary principle has never been followed very strictly. There are numerous instances thruout history where rivals have fought to the death over their claims to the throne, and in more recent times Edward VIII was forced to abdicate in favor of his brother, who became George VI. This is the only way to stop a person considered unsuitable from automatically becoming Head of State in a monarchy such as we have in Britain.
William Windsor will therefore have to patiently wait his turn to ascend the throne unless his father decides to abdicate, or dies. Of course neither of them may get the chance if the British people decide they've had enough of this nonsense, and opt for a republic when the present Queen dies or abdicates.
The Great Leader Kim Il-Sung The Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il
What is rather worrying, however, is that the hereditary principle seems to be gaining popularity even in republics. Thus we get the nominally socialist Democratic People's Republic of Korea making Kim Il-Sung's son, Kim Jong-Il, effective Head of State, and the even more ludicrous situation where his dead father is made President for all eternity. The DPRK is therefore the only country in the world with a dead man as its President. Togo is the latest country to appoint the son of a dead leader as his successor, though the USA has also encouraged the principle of nepotism by allowing George W. Bush to follow his father into the office of President after one very dubious election, and another one which was very close to say the least.
Coming back to Charles and Camilla, they should of course be allowed to marry if they so wish. Indeed Charles should be allowed to marry a man if is feels so inclined, and the same applies to William, Harry or indeed any single person who has reached the age of 18.
As to Charles' position as head of the Church of England when he ascends the throne, the answer is to disestablish this minority religion along with the monarchy itself. What we should have is a secular republic, with freedom to belong to whatever religion one wants to, or none at all. Why should the Head of State be a member of the Church of England, and be barred from marrying a Catholic, an atheist or someone from another religion entirely? It is all a load of nonsense.
Changing the rules for Charles and Camilla, however, is nothing new; royalty has always done it. Henry VIII changed the rules when he wanted a divorce by simply breaking away from the Church of Rome and establishing the Church of England. (Of course he didn't always bother with such niceties as divorce, chopping of his unwanted wives' heads was much less problematic!)
Whether Charles marries Camilla or not is of little concern to me as a republican; it is really none of my business. However I would suggest, if the monarchy is thought to be such an attraction for tourists, why not confine it to the area around Windsor, its castle and its Great Park? 'Windsorland' could become the newest European mini-state like Monaco. The Windsors could rule there in eternity, riding in processions for the cameras of American tourists much like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse do in Disneyland, whilst the rest of Britain could become a democratic republic. London, being so close to Windsor, would also benefit from having this Royal Theme Park mini-state on its doorstep, as all the tourists who visited Windsorland would also stop off in the capital of the British Republic.
King Charles and Queen Camilla postage stamps could become quite a collector's item, and 'a nice little earner' for the tiny Kingdom of Windsorland, the only part of Britain where the Royal Mail (not to mention the royal male and female) would survive. When riding in their golden coach Mickey Mouse ears would not be obligatory headwear, the tourists would just as happily click their cameras at a crown or a tiara. It is just that some of us don't think our country and Parliament should be perpetually turned into Disneyland for the benefit of tourists and TV viewers marveling at our quaint costumes and customs, such as the State opening of Parliament, the Queen's Speech, and Black Rod (or possibly it's the Lord Chamberlain, whoever he is) walking backwards. Black Rod's the fellow who has the door of the Commons slammed in his face, but he may well walk backwards as well, who knows or gives a damn? Let's consign such nonsense to the Magic Kingdom.
Come to think of it, Mickey Mouse sitting with the present Queen in the golden coach WOULD probably draw in a lot of extra tourists. (Perhaps the Queen could learn to talk like Donald Duck to entertain the tourists, I'm told she already does a very good Cockney accent.) Add some big thrill amusement park rides in Windsor Great Park, and Windsorland would be a real money-spinner. The Queen seems to be getting the idea - for her 50th Jubilee she was persuaded, against her better judgment, to hold a pop concert in her back-garden at Buck House and let all the rabble in - the things one has to do nowadays to try to remain popular with one's subjects! They'll be demanding to be called citizens next. It would be far better retreat to Windsorland and retain what is left of one's dignity.
WELCOME TO the WONDERFUL WACKY
world of WINDSORLAND
