Chapter 46 1. Their story continues
On the second day of Princess Diana's funeral, the excited British fell silent.Everyone heals their wounds as City of London cleaners pick up wilted flowers.The ending has a bitter taste.Two children lost their mother, and at this age they still need her badly.Diana's story is over, and their lives have just begun.In the new century, they will be the protagonists of royal news.Their father Charles, who has been in love with Camilla for more than 30 years, will put this shocking love in what position?
Charles and Camilla now live openly together, sometimes at Sergeant St James in London, but mostly at Highgrove.When the children came back from school, Camilla ducked out to be mothered by Tij, their nanny, and had been doing so since 1992.The British were surprised to find that the Prince of Wales was also an affectionate and caring father.When they were young, the children would often see Diana crying and calling Camilla's name.They had already met their father's mistress and were vehemently repulsed by her.
Will Charles and Camilla be together? In Britain today, royal marriage and succession to the throne are still governed by two fundamental laws: the Establishment Act of 1701 and the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.The second law stipulates that any descendant of the royal family cannot marry before the age of 25 without or lacking the consent of both houses of parliament: it is this provision that caused the misfortune of Princess Margaret, who gave up marrying in 1955. Divorced Peter Townsend.But Charles no longer has this problem.On the contrary, the Establishment Act is a big obstacle, which stipulates that if you marry a Catholic, you cannot claim the British throne or become the leader of the Anglican Church.Camilla was a Catholic—and also divorced.Charles could ignore it and even marry in a religious ceremony, like his sister Anne, who divorced and remarried La Villence, with the blessing of the Church of Ireland.But his remarriage will definitely cause a crisis in the Basic Law, which will affect whether he will be able to ascend the throne in the future.
According to a survey on September 4, 1997 - just four days after the princess's death - 63% of most Britons believed in a bright future for the monarchy and 63% wanted it to last forever. 73%.But they are divided on who will represent them, especially Prince Charles.Most people don't want to see Camilla become queen. In 1997, with the death of Princess Diana, Camilla resisted the pressure and squeezed back into the circle of the royal family little by little.She held a party to celebrate her 50th birthday in 1998, and the Queen was invited but the Queen did not attend.Since then, Camilla and Charles have both appeared in important public occasions many times.
In August 2000, Prince William was furious when he learned that his father Charles was planning to secretly marry his mistress Camilla in Scotland, and almost broke up with his father and son.According to Catholic canon, the church will not hold a wedding for a remarried person while his or her spouse is alive.Although Diana has passed away, Camilla's ex-husband Andrew is still there.If in Scotland, the rules of the church are different.Charles' sister, Princess Anne, was blessed in a Scottish church for her remarriage.
William threatened his father that if his father insisted on his own way, he would leave the royal family and England forever.William, who loves his mother very much, is absolutely unwilling to replace Camilla.Charles was astonished and had to back down.This was the most intense dispute between father and son.But things seem to be turning around.
In 2000, at a birthday party of the King of Greece, the Queen of England met Camilla. At that time, the Queen's actions indicated that she had carefully recognized Camilla.
According to an online survey published by a polling website in February 2002, most Britons believe that Prince Charles should marry his longtime girlfriend, Camilla.
Fifty-five per cent of the 3,000 Britons surveyed believed Prince Charles should marry Camilla, with just 32 per cent opposed.However, while the British public would love to see the prince and his long-time lover get married, they would not recognize Camilla and Charles's marriage as having official royal status.Only 16 percent think Camilla should be crowned queen if Prince Charles becomes king.
In March 2002, the Queen of England, Charles and Camilla attended a guitar recital at Buckingham Palace. This was the first time the Queen and Camilla met at Buckingham Palace for many years.The Queen of England greeted Camilla and had a short conversation.
In April 2002, the death of the Queen Mother further shortened the distance between Camilla and the Queen. Camilla was invited to attend the funeral of the Queen Mother. Charles was very sad after losing his grandmother. Camilla accompanied him to relieve his worries. Greatly increased the favor of the people and the Queen.Things are not that simple.Charles invited Camilla to move into Clarence House, the late Queen Mother's palace, to live with him and his two sons, and Camilla readily accepted.But the insider said: "William was so enraged he told his father: 'Get her out of here!'"
William thought it was too much for Camilla to live with them, and that his father was not even married to Camilla, which would be an insult to his late mother.
In August 2003, the British Crown Prince Charles and his family moved in. Clarence Palace, where the late Queen Mother Elizabeth lived, became the new home of Charles, William and Henry. Charles' girlfriend Camilla also moved in together.Although Camilla is not yet a hostess, it shows that her relationship with Charles has turned dark.
There are reports that Prince William has accepted Camilla.He said to his father: "As long as you are happy, Dad." However, Camilla and Charles' official union seems to be far away.
Although the Queen of England is in good health, she is nearly eighty years old. Charles, who has been waiting for most of his life, has to choose between his old lover and the throne.It has been six or seven years since Diana passed away. If he hadn't loved Jiangshan and beauties, the good show should have been staged long ago.If he chooses the throne, how will he deal with Camilla who has been in love for most of his life?
Charles once said to Camilla; "Your greatest achievement is falling in love with me." So, Charles' greatest achievement, besides marrying a fairy tale princess, what else will he do for Camilla?
For Camilla, maybe being a mistress for life was enough? It was a dubiously great sacrifice.
Whether this secret passion has the final result, Camilla waits, and the public also waits.
No matter how the world changes, the story of the prince and princess is still a beautiful fairy tale that everyone loves to read.The wave of revolution after World War I and II swept away the crown and scepter, but not the legend and fantasy.Although the European royal family is declining day by day, it is still the focus of people's attention.Among all the royal children, Britain's Prince William and Prince Henry are the most exposed sufferers.News about them can be read almost every day in the newspapers, eating and drinking, laughing and cursing, everything is included.Some people say that they are like goldfish raised in a glass tank, growing up under people's gaze.
The reason why William and Henry are so eye-catching is not only because they are the former princes of the "Empire on which the sun never sets" --- their father, Prince Charles, has been the crown prince for half a century, but he is not half as attractive as his son.Their charm comes from their mother Diana: their story is a continuation of the myth of Diana, especially William, who looks exactly like his mother, with Diana's shadow in every gesture, every frown and smile, which makes people can't help being full of love and hatred for this child of pity. "If William's appearance is a copy of his father Charles, not a copy of his mother Diana, do you think people will pay half as much attention to him?" A member of the British Conservative Party once asked meaningfully.
In addition to being the heir to the royal family, William is also the continuation of the myth of his mother Diana.The burden on him is self-evident.
When Diana was alive, she keenly foresees that her son will become the focus of attention and the center of right and wrong like her.She said that William was born with "the temperament of being a cover person", and joked that he was "a soul-hunting handsome boy".Two months before her death, she told her friends that she hoped William would be as witty as the son of former US President Kennedy when facing the media in the future.However, when Diana had just died, Kennedy Jr. believed that the situation of brothers William and Henry was much more complicated than him. "I've been living a normal life since I was 5 years old. I went to boarding school, then university, and everything went according to plan. But Diana's son's troubles were just beginning."
On the night of August 30, 1997, William had a phone call with his mother.On the phone, he said that he was about to start school soon, and the press officer of Buckingham Palace wanted to videotape him the opening ceremony of the third semester at Eton, but he did not agree because it would be unfair to his younger brother, and he did not want everyone to focus on on him.
Not long after the call was disconnected, Diana was involved in the car accident in the tunnel.
Diana's death became a turning point in the relationship between father and son. At the beginning of 1998, after Charles inherited the York mansion, he specially asked the designer to try to use their original room in Kensington Palace as the model when decorating the rooms of the two princes.Considering the independence of the adolescent son, the father also gave the son a key so that William could invite his classmates to visit the house on weekends.
For the two little princes, the exposure of Concubine Diana's love life undoubtedly brought them deep hurt.Every time those stories come out, William and Henry have to deal with the divorce of their parents and the early death of their mother again, and they are the real victims.William also worked hard to protect his younger brother Henry from being involved in Charles and Diana's marriage vortex.A former maid at Highgrove said: "William and Henry would cuddle up to each other when the Crown Prince and his wife fought and William would always tell Henry that just because Mom and Dad fought a lot didn't mean they didn't love each other.
Members of the royal family love sports, and William's mother Diana is no exception.With such genetics and training since childhood, William is definitely a good athlete.However, Diana was afraid of horse sports, while William shared his love of hunting and polo with his father.Every winter, he goes on a fox hunt.The three Charles father and son formed a polo team to compete with the local polo team.At Eton College, William participated in the school's rowing, rugby, water polo, and swimming teams. At the age of 17, his 50-meter freestyle performance entered the top 100 in the national 17-year-old group.
William has been voted "the most handsome clothes rack on earth" by designers and fashion columnists.This should also be thanks to his beautiful mother who loves fashion.As soon as she was born, Diana added popular elements to the little prince's clothes.Influenced by his mother's "civilian life", William usually likes to wear brand-name sneakers, Benetton T-shirts, and jeans. When he is on vacation, he will go to McDonald's to buy hamburgers. He looks no different from his peers.But royal dress puts a lot of emphasis on class and status, not individuality.For formal occasions, William must wear a double-breasted suit and tie.
For William and Henry, being noticed doesn't mean happiness.The dead mother is constantly being betrayed, and former lovers and servants are scrambling to sell her privacy-in addition to facing such embarrassment and pain, William and Henry's private lives are also being captured by the media, which is doubly troublesome.When he first entered the University of St. Andrew, William rented a Victorian villa with three classmates at a price of US$165 per week. Among his roommates was the campus model and beauty Catherine Middleton.So the next day the tabloids had this headline: "Prince William Lives With Lingerie Model".William's roommates laughed at this, "Catherine has a boyfriend, and Prince William is very cautious in this regard." They said: "The two even want to be together, but there is little chance, because those bodyguards are everywhere."
William and Henry depended on each other in the endless attention and hurt, and gradually practiced the kung fu of invulnerability.In the face of the paparazzi, William has a certain degree of advance and retreat, and can cope with it with ease. Some media commented that his ability to withstand pressure is even worse than the queen.Henry lived a more free and easy life, playing ball, drinking, chasing girls, enjoying the privileges of the prince and the joy of youth.
Surprisingly, the two princes are as curious about celebrity scandals as their compatriots. "They still condemn the paparazzi who killed Diana," said a former bodyguard of the prince, "but that doesn't mean they don't like to watch other people's scandals." According to tabloids, the rooms of the two prince's bodyguards are full of such magazines, "the prince wants to buy and read."
The University of St. Andrew, where Prince William studied, can be said to be the most noisy "evening university" in the UK. There is only one theater there, but there are 22 bars.Someone once said that St. Andrew's University can't learn anything other than entertainment.However, William has always been very principled not to fall into this pursuit. He chooses not to join the school club and usually just hangs out with his friends.Students in the university revealed that Prince William is actually quite hardworking.He took one day a week to work on his homework, spending hours in the library poring over his teacher's notes.William never complained about the heavy learning tasks, and he always passed the examinations easily.William's classmates said: "William is a very serious guy." William has to cook by himself once a week, so people there can see William pushing a shopping cart in the supermarket, of course, surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards.
To know the charm of the British prince, you might as well go to the Boufort Polo Club to have a look. "It's always full of young girls hoping to get a glimpse of the prince," said a female member of the club. "Whenever William and Henry appear, they scream."
Although William is only in his early twenties, his rumored girlfriend is definitely growing faster than his age.Since he was 12 years old, the question of "who will be the future princess" has been closely related to the hearts of the British media and the public.Prince William's "peach blossom" luck is even worse than that of his father Charles. The list of rumored girls with him is really amazing: from the music queen to the famous lady, from the daughter of his father's mistress to the president of the United States niece of...
His first love was Zola when he was 12 years old. Later, he had Arabella, Camilla's daughter Laura, Bush's niece and Isabel --- the woman who was considered by the British media to be the most suitable princess and the one who was most famous. It's Britney Spears.All of these are topics of interest to the tabloids.As long as there is a sweet and sexy girl next to William, the reporter will photograph it, and it will immediately become the headline of the news—another rumored girlfriend is released.
Just when William's rumored girlfriends were flying all over the sky, another girl from Africa appeared on William's 21st birthday --- Jessica Craig.And his 21st birthday party was also themed "Out of Africa".Jessica Krieger was the same age as William.Her father runs a 55,000-acre wildlife sanctuary on the slopes of Kenya.Prince William lived here for four months during the summer before he graduated from high school and worked with Jessica and her family.He not only fell in love with Africa, but also fell in love with Jessica in getting along day and night.The two are said to have pledged eachother, having exchanged rings in an informal engagement ceremony.
William especially likes this secluded safari park because it is almost isolated from the outside world and has a high degree of privacy.It is also because of this that there has been no news of his living here for 4 months in the past two years.He dreams of being an ordinary person, and here is a good choice.
Things seem to be true. Prince William is teaching himself Swahili. He said he loves Africa. In 2003, it was reported that Prince William planned to drop out of school in the summer to buy a house in Kenya, Africa, and live with his lover Jessica.Members of the British royal family have a headache for this matter.
Prince William expressed that he would rather give up the right to inherit the throne and be with Jessica.There was nothing the royal family could do about it, as William, who inherited Diana's large fortune, was financially self-sufficient.
However, the British royal family, known for its cautiousness, avoided talking about it.It seems that before the British royal family officially announces who will be the future princess of the United Kingdom, Prince William's "peach blossoms everywhere" will continue to bloom undefeated.
Prince Henry's limelight has always been very strong in the UK. He was once the sexiest man in the eyes of the British, ranking even higher than Beckham.But Henry's drug and alcohol scandals have greatly affected his image in the minds of British nationals.One of his teachers explained this by saying that there was too much pressure on him.He tries to be chic and indifferent to the world.However, he has always been hiding the shadow of his mother Diana's tragic death.
On the table in Prince Henry's dormitory at Eton is a framed black-and-white photo of his mother, Princess Diana, taken at one of the last official occasions before she was involved in a car accident in Paris in 1997 for Vanity Fair for a portrait shoot.The black and white photo is also one of Prince Henry's favorite portraits of his mother.Even though he is a prince, Henry's irreparable regret is his mother's early death.
William's drinking scandal was never widely reported in the media, but his younger brother Henry, third in line to the British throne, seemed eager to fill the void.Compared to William, Henry seemed less self-conscious. He was once photographed with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other.His love of nightlife, his habit of drinking in bars and dancing in nightclubs, caused Henry a lot of trouble.
In early 2002, the British media broke the scandal that Henry smoked marijuana and went to bars when he was under the legal age.Eton almost issued an "exit order" to him.Since then, Henry has changed from a sexy man in everyone's eyes to a "hit" target.
After the incident, Prince Charles acted in time to send Henry to a drug rehabilitation center in southern England.It is reported that in the drug rehabilitation center, Henry talked for a long time with some people who had taken drugs. After learning about the scourge of drug use, Henry was "greatly shocked."Since then, he has never dared to touch drugs again.
If Henry went drinking with his brother William, William would "remind" Henry.Once, Henry had some disputes with the waiter in the bar, and Henry yelled at the waiter: "You damn frog!" William who was next to him immediately asked Henry to apologize.
After graduating from Eton High School in 2003, Henry came to Australia to start his two-month internship, learning how to be an Australian cowboy.After finishing his Australian cowboy trip, he will enter the famous Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in the United Kingdom.
Little Prince Henry looks more like his father, without William's charismatic temperament, but he is no less attractive to the opposite sex than his elder brother.The girls commented that Henry and William were basically different types, with William being reserved and self-controlled, and Henry being outgoing and uninhibited.
Compared with William, who is responsible for the heir to the throne and is cautious in his words and deeds, Henry is much more "sexy and courageous".On the wall of his room at Eton College, there was a hot bikini photo of actress Halle Berry posted openly.Friends also said that he was several times more active than William in pursuing the opposite sex. “He had a long list of girlfriends,” said a neighbor who lived in Highgrove. “Henry was blessed with the privileges of being a royal and the freedom to be happy. His older brother was not as lucky.”