Camilla's 'flexible role'
2005-02-11 19:17
London - In opting for the future title of Princess Consort, Britain's royal bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles will be taking on a flexible public role which can be adapted according to both circumstances and public opinion, experts said on Friday.
Following her marriage to heir to the throne Prince Charles on April 8, the 57-year-old divorcee will officially become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall.
Assuming Charles takes over as monarch from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Parker Bowles will then assume the specially-coined role of Princess Consort, royal officials said in announcing the nuptials on Thursday.
While the British public now largely tolerates the couple's long relationship, opinion polls show Parker Bowles remains notably less popular than Princess Diana, Charles's ex-wife who died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Thus, many pundits have pointed out, making Parker Bowles Princess of Wales - Diana's old title - or queen would risk massive public ire.
The title of Princess Consort is deliberately vague, experts say, allowing Parker Bowles to shape her public role over time.
Apart from the monarch and the heir to the throne, "no other member of the royal family has any constitutional obligations", said Professor Adam Tomkins, a constitutional law expert from Glasgow University in Scotland.
Shaped by public opinion
"Think about the current Duke of Edinburgh, the queen's husband. His role is not constitutionally defined, his role is not constitutionally required or legally mandated in any way," he said.
"These days it looks like one of the considerations that is borne in mind when senior members of the royal family have shaped their role is public opinion."
Public opinion is certainly against a Queen Camilla - an opinion poll in Friday's Daily Telegraph newspaper showed that while 40% of those asked backed the Princess Consort notion, just seven percent thought she should be queen, with 47% wanting no title at all.
Royal pundits believe Parker Bowles will initially keep a low profile, and gradually build up her place in public life through carefully-chosen charitable works and the like.
In the Daily Telegraph poll, 57% of respondents thought Parker Bowles should carry out the normal duties of a monarch's wife, whatever her title.
Her closest role model is seen as Prince Albert, the husband of 19th century monarch Queen Victoria, who was made Prince Consort and overcame initial public suspicion to become a well-loved figure.
Camilla's role was purely a matter for the royal family and government, as there were no constitutional issues at stake, Tomkins said.
The one sticking point could be opinion in more conservative countries from the Commonwealth, the association of former British colonies, who might not welcome a twice-married adulterer as their de facto queen, Tomkins added. - AFP
- SAPA