Prince Charles Is Not a Snobbish Bore

Could we take our eyes off Camilla Parker Bowles's borrowed tiara for a moment, and see that Prince Charles (currently on tour in the U.S.) is not such a loathesome guy? As I learn more of his passion for the environment, his dream of a sustainable argriculture, and his fondness for the writings of Rudolf Steiner, I see that if I ever sat next to Charles on the morning subway, we'd have a good deal to productively discuss. His royal highness is less of a hawk than Blair or Bush on Iraq, by the way. AND, he started a school in England that offers sophisticated courses in sacred art traditions. If that weren't enough, he is reasonably skilled at painting country sunsets with watercolors. What a guy!

But Charles and his long-patient bride can't catch a break from the press.

As preparation for their U.S. tour, which ends this week, The New York Times writes, "British newspapers have focused on issues like the buzz about Camilla's new yoga regime, the unfairness of Charles's granting an interview to "60 Minutes" instead of to them, the royal tiara that Camilla wore to a recent state dinner and the threat by American Diana-lovers to wave anti-Camilla placards and yell mean things when the duchess appears in public." In America, a USA Today poll proclaimed the American public "bored" with the whole royal visit.

I say, "Hang in there, Charles! Get humble. Stay calm." We may reach a time when this spiritual prince, once lambasted for using Ouija boards, will enter the realm of true respectibility, despite his numerous PR problems.