Is there a future for Prince Charles?
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2008 at 4:05pm
2 responses
Oh dear, my blogging has become very light of late. I was off work ill most of last week, so that is my excuse. There has been plenty of hustle and bustle on the blogs while I’ve been away- what with discussions on the credit crunch ( ‘the end of conservative economic policies’ as quoted from a cross bench Lord on Radio 4 today. About time too!) the US presidential election, Jane Davidson standing down in 2011, and that really interesting story about Jenny Randerson standing against Kirsty Williams for the Lib dem leadership. I can’t wait for that one.
I’m filming for Week in Week Out on a regular basis at the moment, for a programme set to hit your screens on the 28th of October on Prince Charles- the work he does or doesn’t do, his role in Wales, the way the people of Wales view him etc. Amanda Protheroe Thomas and myself have been interviewing people for the show. I’ve been interviewing mainly Royalists and close associates of Charles, while Amanda has been interviewing the Welsh Republicans.
I think they are trying to see if we change our opinions of Charles and the Royal Family by the end of this experience. Amanda Protheroe Thomas carries out work for the Prince’s Trust so she will obviously take less convincing than me that the Monarchy has a clear role in Wales. On this issue, I watched Dragon’s Eye last week with an air of bemusement at Andrew R T Davies AMs outburst regarding the fact that there may be no celebration of Charles’s investiture. He seemed to believe that you had to be a Nationalist to be a republican - without taking in to account that there are in fact Unionist republicans out there who have equally strong views on the future role of the Monarchy. They are not all ‘Nats’ as Andrew so clearly wants to believe.
Nevertheless, I believe that a consideration of the future role of the Monarchy, and the Prince of Wales should be debated at the National Assembly for Wales. I now await with baited breath an opposition party debate on this issue, tabled by Andrew himself….I will be waiting a long time no doubt.
I am leaving the office now to head for Crickhowell where I will be interviewing Shan Legge-Bourke, Lady in Waiting to Princess Ann and a descendant of Richard Crawshay about her views on Prince Charles. Should be interesting. I might not ask her about Tiggy…
