King Disguises Serious Purpose(UK Times)
Camilla Joins Her Prince At Balmoral(Daily Record: Yahoo)
~*~
Row over Andrew's Windsor golf plan(Sunday Times UK)
WILLS FASHION SCAM (Sunday People)
Crowns Prince!(Sunday People)
~*~
Charles And Camilla Skip Church For Morning In Bed(Daily Record: Yahoo)
William 'offered Edinburgh place' (The Guardian)
~*~
Church to lift wedding ban on divorcees(Electronic Telegraph)
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(January 22)
King disguises serious purpose
BY OUR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR
JORDANIANS are still laughing at the escapades of King Abdullah, who disguised
himself for an incognito visit to a government hospital to see for himself the
standard of healthcare available for ordinary citizens.
Al-Rai, Jordan's leading newspaper, carried a cartoon "warning" ministries that
they might shortly expect unusual visitors. Already the Health Ministry and
officials at the hapless hospital are paying the price: they have been
reprimanded for sloppiness, absenteeism and poor standards. The King has a
serious purpose, however: for the 38-year-old monarch, raising standards and
improving life for ordinary Jordanians are the top priority. Unless the King can
get the economy moving, the political challenges will be all but insuperable.
It is now a year since he was named, unexpectedly, by his gravely ill father,
Hussein, as his successor. Days later he came to the throne. Jordan's economic
plight has been the overwhelming preoccupation. The country is almost £4 billion
in debt, largely because of a false boom in the 1980s and failure to rein in
spending after Jordanians were expelled from the Gulf in the 1990s. Poverty
affects more than half the country's four million people. The gap between the
have-nots and those who built luxurious villas with Gulf money has stoked social
tensions. The West has been reluctant to help. Jordan is vital to the Middle
East peace process, but if co-operation with Israel is to find acceptance,
Abdullah must secure benefits for Jordan.
The King cannot afford complacency. If surprise raids on his ministries will
reduce corruption and galvanise bureaucrats, he is ready to dress up again. The
only difficulty is that now everyone will recognise him.
~*~
Camilla Joins Her Prince At Balmoral
CAMILLA Parker Bowles flew into Scotland last night to join Prince Charles at
his Highland hideaway.
She was whisked from Aberdeen airport to Balmoral after landing on a scheduled
BA flight from Heathrow at 5.30pm.
Prince Charles arrived two days earlier. He had flown from Sandringham on a
Queen's Flight with some house guests.
His long weekend together with Camilla is being spent at Birkhall, the Queen
Mother's residence on the edge of Balmoral estate.
It's thought to be the first time Camilla has been at Balmoral since 1991 when
she was there with former husband Andrew.
A Balmoral aide said: "This visit is obviously with the approval of the Queen
and the Queen Mother.
"It just shows how close Mrs Parker Bowles is coming to full acceptance.
"It's only a question of time before she is really one of the family."
There are no other Royals at Balmoral at the moment and the castle itself is
shut for winter.
Charles has always kept a suite of apartments at the more informal house,
Craigowan, since his bachelor days.
It was at the white-washed Georgian mansion that Edward and Sophie spent part of
their honeymoon.
And Charles has spent many out-of-season breaks there by himself and with
Princes William and Harry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(January 23)
Row over Andrew's Windsor golf plan
THE royal family faces a new row over commercial exploitation after the Queen
last week backed a plan by the Duke of York to build a privately funded golf
course in the grounds of Windsor Castle, write Christopher Morgan and Jon
Ungoed-Thomas.
In a meeting at Sandringham, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh sanctioned
plans to open the private grounds of the castle for corporate golfing events.
Businessmen, who will pay to attend games hosted by Prince Andrew, will be able
to tee off within yards of the Queen's private apartments.
The scheme has been devised to help provide employment for Andrew when he leaves
the Royal Navy. It has, however, provoked criticism from senior aides and other
members of the royal family.
A nine-hole golf course already exists for the use of household staff, but under
the prince's plans the course will be redeveloped and new facilities built,
including a car park and a refurbished clubhouse. The prince is designing the
course with the help of Nick Faldo, the golfer.
The project is the latest in a series of commercial ventures which has provoked
criticism of the royal family for exploiting its position. A scheme within the
grounds of a royal residence is regarded by aides as a commercial venture too
far.
~*~
WILLS FASHION SCAM
THE Palace is fuming over a US menswear firm using the Royals to sell suits on
the internet.
Sabatini of Washington's Millennium Collection features a "Prince William
Millennium Style Tuxedo" made of silk and cashmere.
Their website also has Charles saying: "Nothing speaks better about Sabatini
than the clothes themselves", and the company boasts that they are "Recognized
by the Royal Family of England".
But the royals have NEVER bought Sabatini suits. An official said: "We have told
them it is illegal to use the royal name without permission."
The tacky tailor has also outraged Prince Rainier of Monaco with the "Princess
Grace satin and silk evening gown".
And they also advertise a John Kennedy Jnr suit - which is bound to upset the
Kennedy family after his death last year in a plane crash.
Yesterday Sabatini refused to comment.
~*~
CROWNS PRINCE!
Charles spends Harley Street fortune to get his teeth fixed
PRINCE Charles is flashing a gleaming new smile - after splashing out a small
fortune on his teeth.
Charles spent an hour with a Harley Street dentist - where he paid thousands for
cosmetic work.
The "crown prince" - spotted going into the exclusive London consulting rooms
for the treatment last week - looked apprehensive as he stepped out of a
chauffeur-driven limo and hurried up the steps.
But there was a definite dental glow as he emerged later.
Dressed in a grey suit and tie, he quickly stepped into a waiting car.
The lengthy session is believed to have included work on receding gums which
have given him the glums.
The Prince has had pain and sensitivity in his mouth for some months. After an
initial inspection he was told he needed a course of cosmetic work to solve the
problems. The appointment was one of a string of visits that the Prince has made
to the group practice in Harley Street.
A Royal source said: "Prince Charles has had pain over recent months and wanted
to sort the matter out.
"He knew it would take several sessions but was prepared to go through the
discomfort if it solved the long-term problems.
"Sadly he realises it's just part of growing old as he's now in his fifties."
The Prince's visit comes just a few months after Prince William was pictured
wearing a brace.
Bashful William was reluctant to smile but briefly revealed the metalwork to
photographers as he flashed a grin.
Charles, too, had taken to covering his mouth with his hand in recent pictures -
but now he has a definite royal ring of confidence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(January 24)
Charles And Camilla Skip Church For Morning In Bed
PRINCE Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles opted for a long lie-in yesterday -
rather than go to church.
Locals on Deeside had hoped to see the heir to the throne and his mistress at
Crathie Kirk, but were disappointed when they failed to show.
Instead, the couple enjoyed a late breakfast at the Queen Mother's Birkhall
estate, near Balmoral Castle.
One insider said: "This is very much a private visit and they don't want any
fuss."
Later yesterday, the couple drove from Birkhall via a back road to lunch at a
secluded log cabin - a favourite of the Queen's.
They headed deep into the heart of Balmoral, with its new hi-tech security
system.
A network of state-of-the-art secret cameras, audio sensors and alarms
specifically engineered for Royal protection and privacy has been installed
around the 55,000-acre estate near Ballater, on Deeside.
Birkhall was also included in the upgrade but no mention has been made of the
cost.
A team of London engineers was in the area last week to carry out the work under
the supervision of the Metropolitan Police. The Met shares responsibility for
security on the sprawling estate with Grampian Police during Royal visits.
The system is radio-linked to a police control room near Balmoral Castle.
Royal sources say it is not in response to any threat but is part of an ongoing
security review.
Birkhall, where Charles has kept private apartments since his bachelor days, is
seen as vulnerable because of the public roads which run close by.
The prince arrived on Deeside with friends last Wednesday after travelling by
train to Aberdeen.
Camilla joined him on Friday.
~*~
William 'offered Edinburgh place'
Prince William's inclination to shun the ivy towers of Oxford and Cambridge
appears to have been rewarded with the offer of a place at Edinburgh university.
Provided he achieves three Bs at A-level, he could begin his chosen history of
art degree course at the university next year, after taking a year out.
It was reported yesterday that the prince had placed Edinburgh first on his Ucas
application form, ahead of Oxford and Cambridge, and had received a conditional
offer of a place. Yesterday, Buckingham Palace said: "We have not made any
announcement. We are not confirming or denying anything."
Revealingly, the spokeswoman added: "When Prince William is ready to make it
public, he will do so."
If he gets the grades, he is promised a stimulating period of study.
"The history of art is an intellectual and aesthetic storehouse of fundamental
and often controversial issues of almost unlimited scope," says the university's
handbook.
The prince, 17, sits A-levels in English, geography and art history this year.
It was widely reported that he was looking at alternatives to the traditional
Oxbridge route.
When reports emerged last year that he was considering Edinburgh, the society
magazine Tatler sang the city's praises: Oxford had waned, while Edinburgh was
no longer the dour Athens of the north but "Ibiza, Prague and Dublin rolled into
one".
Edinburgh university already has a royal connection: the Duke of Edinburgh is
its chancellor. It has also become a favoured destination for aristocrats.
Current students include Edward Sackville, son of Earl De La Warr; Lord
Frederick Hervey; and the Marquess of Bristol.
The university refused to be drawn on the reports about the prince. A
spokeswoman said: "All applications are confidential. There is absolutely no way
I can say anything about any application, regardless of who it is from."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(January 25)
Church to lift wedding ban on divorcees
By Victoria Combe, Religion Correspondent, and Michael Paterson
THE Church of England is set to break with the traditional Christian teaching
that marriage is a lifelong commitment and permit the remarriage of divorcees in
church.
In a report to be published today, the Church will condone second weddings for
divorcees in situations where there is a "clear distance of time, of local
setting and of relationship" with any previous marriages.
The departure from traditional teaching makes it possible for the Prince of
Wales to marry his close friend Camilla Parker Bowles - a divorcee whose former
husband is still alive - in church. However, their situation is complicated by
the Prince's confession of adultery.
The report is expected to advise clergy not to allow a second wedding in church
where it would "compound a wrong" and "consecrate an old infidelity". Although
the remarriage of divorcees has always been forbidden under official church
teaching, in practice about a third of Anglican priests have executed their
independence as legal registrars of a parish to hold weddings for divorcees.
Several bishops have also spoken out about their desire for the rules to change.
In practical terms the report, Marriage in Church after Divorce, may make little
difference. However, the Church of England risks alienating itself from the
Roman Catholic Church by making an unofficial practice Church policy.
The report follows a year-long study by a working party, chaired by the Bishop
of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt. It will be made available to
parishes around the country and then put before the Synod, which will vote on
its recommendations later this year. It is unlikely that the Synod will veto
them.
A forewarning of the report's contents came last year in a teaching document by
all the bishops on marriage, which described possible criteria for permitting a
church wedding after divorce. The report said that for a second marriage to take
place there needed to be "enough time to recover emotional stability and good
judgment" and a "new setting where a former partner is not forced to endure
reopening of new wounds".
The bishops advised that divorcees seeking to marry again be turned away from
the church if they had not met "obligations to their former partner and
children" and if "an act of unfaithfulness which contributed to the breakdown of
the first marriage is the basis of the new marriage".
The report is a clear attempt by the Church of England to adjust to a change in
society and open its doors to a large number of couples who have suffered
marriage breakdown and wish to start again. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
George Carey, usually staunchly defends Biblical teaching. On homosexuality, for
example, he battled against many bishops to retain traditional teaching which
forbade the ordination and marriage of practising homosexuals.
However, with two of his four children divorced he is known to be sympathetic to
those whose marriages have broken down. The proposed change in policy was
criticised yesterday by a leading member of the Church's evangelical wing. The
Rev David Holloway, of the Reform group, said the bishops were launching "an
assault on marriage".
He said: "This devalues the currency of marriage. It will cause more marriages
to break up because people will know they can go off and get married again in
church. I think the Bible is quite clear in its teaching about divorce and
remarriage. Jesus shocked his disciples with how strict his teaching was, yet he
was the most compassionate person."
He said: "A bad marriage is better than a good divorce where children are
concerned." But the Rev Kenneth Bowler, of All Saints, Fulham, London, said: "We
have to meet people's pastoral needs. Marriages do die and that is very sad. I
know the arguments about what the Bible teaches, but 2,000 years ago marriage
was very different."
He said it was essential that traditionalists did not have to conduct marriage
services for divorcees against their wishes.
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