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by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
The telling picture flashed round the globe and within minutes was on the front page of every newspaper on earth:: Prince Charles in black tie... his Duchess of Cornwall, the unmistakable and little loved Camilla, dripping a king's ransom in ice. Their car under attack and no support from the majesty that doth hedge a king. Charles looked startled; Camilla was clearly frightened... in that picture flashed round the world.
What had happened?
Outraged students held the Christmas-party bound royals at bay. Their beef? A substantial hike looming in student tuitions... and an acute desire to drive home their point to the fiscally intransigent Cameron government.
The students didn't know the prince and Camilla were coming their way; the prince's escort apparently had no knowledge of the protesting students. Moreover the prince had no inkling that the raw material for an historic encounter was at hand... if he would only reach out and grab it.
This, then, is the tale of a hapless prince, a lost opportunity, and a moment, if played differently, when these royals could together show his subjects the grit and empathy of the prince and that Camilla was more than clotheshorse and bedmate. That she was the fit consort for a brave king who reached out and did not fear his people.
But instead, the car was rocked, to the consternation and concern of its passengers and their security detail. Worse, the Duchess was poked by what was apparently a tree limb, in a very ungallant and un-English way. (Speculation immediately suggested that her window was open so she could have a cigarette). After a brief kerfuffle, the grumbling students were pushed back and their royal highnesses moved on, to arrive quite fashionably late at their soiree... the chance of a lifetime now lost forever.
What should have happened instead.
"Give me the lucky man," the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte once said. Charles, prince of Wales, has not been lucky. True, he seemed fortune's prince when he married the shy girl who became the most glamorous woman on earth. But, as we all came to know, as he uttered his wedding vows, he well and truly loved another. "Three in a bed" was hardly the formula for a captivating prince.
In due time, he got the woman he loved.... but discovered she came with a mountain of (no doubt Louis Vuitton) baggage. His people wished he would lead them to higher aspirations than the cultivation of organic vegetables and designer voles for his pampered barn owls. Then, not seeing a drop of panache or allure from his royal highness they turned expectant eyes upon the Prince William, the next heir, who in a hunky package with his eye-catching mate Kate promised so much more. Poor hapless Charles, dull as dishwater, bore of empire.
However, fate's a funny, unaccountable thing... and as Charles' limousine rolled through London wide-grinning fate was planning an encounter for the prince, an encounter and an opportunity to change perception and make this ennuye royal of more than 60 tired years the cynosure of every eye... and a hero to boot.
The rambunctious students were there... ready with anger and epithets. These were the raw material this prince needed for his ascension. The more raucous they were, the more threatening, the greater the daring and bold courage to face them, the better. Remember, this prince has layers and a lifetime of dullness to shake off.
The students threaten the car and its occupants. These occupants are startled... but Charles, the prince of empire, understands that fate is honoring him. First reassure Camilla, who understanding the stakes for them both, nods. He tells his driver and security detail to notify his party hosts that he requires, in 10 minutes, a room in which to meet a delegation of the grumblers.l
He tells his security detail to select 10 of the most vociferous... and advise them the prince invites them to meet with him and say their piece.
His security detail is alarmed, jeremiads and stern looks at the ready. The prince must be protected... but he says,"A prince must never fear his people not least when they are roiled so."
He meets with the students... who, at first more angry than well meaning... come replete with insults and skepticism. But a prince can charm, even this one.
He begs a favor.
Having met with these folk, having assured them of his particular interest in their plight... he asks them, as a boon, to return to their colleagues and report that he will visit them in 5 minutes if they were be calm, welcoming to him --- and his wife.
By now, every alarm bell in the empire is tolling. Every newspaper on near-by Fleet street is alert with every journalist en route. By now there is pandemonium as the prince, holding Camilla by the hand, strides, smiling into the midst of the astonished students. Simply he says, "I am here to listen" as a million camera flashes illuminate the night and transform his reputation, the people's prince at last., a nation proud of him and beaming!
But this is might-have-been.
In reality this moment tailor-made to be seized and shaped by a prince yielded a very different picture... of an unappealing, clueless heir... and the wife who brought him personal comfort but diminished stature. She, desiring the respect and even love of a great people, might have hazarded more for her tabby cat mate. But he bound by rules, tradition, and the weight of listless years, did nothing more than squeeze her hand and advise their driver to continue.
All the while, fate sat with its wide-grin and mischievously scrutinized a prince and the great opportunity he lost forever and ever. Sic transit gloria mundi.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! For details on Dr. Lant's 18 best-selling business books, go to jeffreylant.com His book Insubstantial Pageant: Ceremony and Confusion at Queen Victoria's Court was the result of being the first American to gain access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
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