This afternoon a constitutional expert explained why Charles can now marry Camilla. A summary of what he said is:
"The Monarch has to give consent to the marriage of anyone in line to the throne. In order for him/her to give consent he/she has to consult the government and get their approval. When the Duke of Windsor wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, divorce was frowned upon, He asked the government for permission and they refused. As he was already King, parliament decided that he either had to give up the crown or Wallis Simpson. When Margaret wanted to marry Peter Townsend, divorce was still disapproved of, and although the Queen was probably willing to let them marry, Winston Churchill's government thought public opinion was against her marrying a divorcee, so the Queen refused permission. Nowadays divorce and remarrying is common, and the public attitude to Camilla has softened, so Tony's government have approved and the Queen has given her consent, but for a civil marriage followed by a blessing." One report I find amusing (talk about keep it in the family) is that Charles first met Camilla when she was a debutant (fact). She said to him that her great-great-great grandmother had been his great-great grandfather's mistress "So how about it?" (Don't know if that bit's true, but it was said by someone who knew them both, saying when younger she was a feisty blonde with a robust sense of humour, and not by a tabloid journalist.) Jean in Poole To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
