NEWS OF THE WORLD _ EXCLUSVIE CAMILLA MEETS QUEEN
Irish_Val
hhhhmmm manipulating the press??????? I thought only Diana could do
that...... well, they've pushed Diana out of the spotlight.... has
hidden traces of her..... as pounded her life into the dirt.... and
now they feel it's time for Camilla to come ....... the woman they
feared would "bring down the monarchy"...... again... a thought only
given to diana..... mhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmm disgusting..... but we
already knew that about these people...... val
ROYAL SCOOP: QUEEN MEETS CAMILLA
By CLIVE GOODMAN
TOGETHER AT LAST: Queen and Camilla met in a historic show of unity
THE QUEEN and Camilla Parker Bowles yesterday held a private heart-to-
heart about her place at Charles' side.
It took place at an open-air barbecue by the biggest gathering of
European royalty since Prince Andrew's wedding to Fergie in 1986.
It was us here online who broke this Royal exclusive, so keep checking
back for all the best news throughout the week
“They are now free to marry if they want to,” said a family
friend. “This opens the door to their future. No one is saying marriage
is an immediate probability but it is now much easier to talk about
than it was just 24 hours ago.”
Charles is aware that there will now be intense speculation about plans
to marry Camilla, but close friends insist they still have no intention
of marrying yet.
“The meeting means that their destiny is now back in their own hands,
that they can marry if they want to,” the friend added. “That doesn’t
mean they’ll be appearing at Chelsea register office next week. It’s
enough for them to know that they can make the decision for
themselves.”
It also emerged last night that Camilla privately met Prime Minister
Tony Blair earlier this year.
The party at Prince Charles’s Gloucestershire country home, Highgrove,
yesterday was a 60th birthday barbecue for ex-King Constantine of
Greece.
FAMILY TIES: 'Charles and Camilla know that now the door has been
opened it can never be closed'
The Queen was wearing a blue dress and a diamond brooch. Camilla was
dressed in a casual cream linen dress and jacket. Her Majesty walked
over to Charles’ love in the drawing room of Highgrove and Camilla did
a huge formal curtsey. They chatted for ten minutes then the Queen met
all the other members of royalty who were also in a drawing room.
‘Queen secretly monitored them on official trip’
“It was very special,” added the family friend. “This wasn't a private
chat over tea at Buckingham Palace but a very high-profile meeting at
the most important royal party for years.
A MOTHER'S LOVE: Prince Charles was so grateful for her gesture, says
family friend
“Both Charles and Mrs Parker Bowles are delighted. He is enormously
grateful to his mother for this gesture. She is being a mother for the
day, not the sovereign.”
Other guests at the barbecue, cooked by celebrity chef Anton Mossiman,
included King Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Margrethe of Denmark and King
Harald of Norway.
Charles' sons William, 17, and Harry, 16, were also there. “They were
very pleased to be there,” added the family friend. “They like Mrs
Parker Bowles and they want to see their father happy.”
Prince Philip missed the bash because of a carriage driving contest.
GLAD FOR DAD: William, left, and Harry 'like Camilla and want to see
their father happy'
Camilla had been racked with nerves ever since the Queen accepted the
invitation last weekend.
“For years the Queen and the Royal Family have treated her as someone
who simply doesn't exist,” said a friend.
“So to suddenly become part of her circle again was, to be honest, a
bit terrifying. But both she and the prince are overjoyed and very
excited about their future.”
As Camilla and the Queen tucked into barbecued steaks, lobster and king
prawns, comic musician Jim Tavare performed a stand-up turn with his
double bass.
The Queen's change of heart came after a week of watching Charles and
Camilla conduct themselves with dignity on an official visit to
Scotland.
The couple were staying at Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official Scottish
residence, while he represented his mother at a Church of Scotland
conference.
But unknown to Charles, the Queen secretly flew to Craigowan, a
shooting lodge on the Royal Family's Scottish estate, so she could
monitor local reaction.
MAN WHO HELPED: King Constantine with Queen Anne-Marie
During the trip Camilla, 52, twice accompanied Charles, 51, to official
banquets with two of the Queen's most senior aides, Sir Michael Peat,
Keeper of the Privy Purse, and the Earl of Airlie, Her Majesty's former
Lord Chamberlain.
“The prince now realises that their attendance was no accident and that
they were there to watch Mrs Parker Bowles at close quarters and report
back to the Queen,” said the friend. “She seems to have been satisfied
the time was right to make the first move.”
Guests at yesterday’s party sat at individual tables assigned to the
different sovereigns and their families. Guest of honour King
Constantine, who was 60 on Friday, also had TV interviewer Selina Scott
in his party.
Others there included Charles's close pal Nicholas Soames and the Duke
of Gloucester. It also emerged last night that the meeting between the
Queen and Camilla would not have been possible without the help of King
Constantine.
‘She was overwhelmed by the warm reception’
“He’s close to both the Queen and Charles and is one of the few people
free to speak their minds,” confided a friend.
“His view was that it was inevitable that a meeting would take place
and that it should be sooner rather than later.
“The Queen now believes that times have changed sufficiently for her to
begin meeting Mrs Parker Bowles. Many years ago before her own marriage
and Prince Charles' marriage to Princess Diana, Mrs Parker Bowles and
her family were part of the Queen's circle. Had things been different,
they’d never have become estranged. The Queen is pleased to be picking
up the friendship again.”
Now there could be a change to plans for the Queen Mother's 100th
birthday bash in June at Windsor Castle. Camilla had been left off the
guest list while her former husband Andrew, a friend of Princess Anne,
has been invited.
PARTY GUESTS: King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain
Charles and his Camilla are now waiting to see if the Queen and Queen
Mother will review the list in the light of yesterday's meeting. “She
would love to be there but she will quite understand if it is too late
to make any changes,' said a family friend.
Last night pals of Camilla said she was overwhelmed at the warm welcome
she received from Charles's family.
“It’s nice to feel accepted at last,” said one. “Both she and the
prince know that once this door has been opened it can never be closed
again. That means losing some privacy now but it will be worth it for
the future they can have together.”
What it means for the Monarchy
WHEN it came, there was none of the hiding which has been a hallmark of
the Royal Family's reaction to the woman at the heart of the palace's
ticking timebomb.
The Queen chose the highest- profile royal party for years to meet the
women many feared would bring down the crown.
For so long the role of Camilla Parker Bowles in the life of the heir
to the throne, and therefore the life of Britain, has been an
unresolved dilemma of huge proportions.
Until yesterday it was a problem Buckingham Palace refused to deal with
or even recognise. Their policy, simply, was that Camilla did not exist
in the Queen's world.
In the end it took the Queen herself, guided by old family friend ex-
King Constantine of Greece, to find a solution.
After a week of watching her son and his companion working together in
Scotland, she agreed to meet Camilla.
Not in some dusty palace drawing room, but at a family event in front
of the crowned heads of Europe.
Hurdle
For Camilla, Charles and the Queen, royal life can never be the same
again.
The prince's circle believe the only significant hurdle to him marrying
the woman he plainly adores has now been removed and they are free to
become man and wife if they wish.
They will marry sooner rather than later but at the moment it is enough
for Charles and Camilla just to know that they can.
But it is an open door that also lets in some significant
responsibilities.
There was a certain freedom to being a constitutional cypher. It meant
Camilla's private life was just that, private.
As of last night, she became an officially recognised companion to our
next king.
For the monarchy it means that they will have to get used to a semi-
detatched consort for the heir, a member of the Royal Family who is
not, strictly speaking a member.
There is never a better time to tackle these issues than at the start
of the new millennium.
Some of the Queen's advisers may fear the future, but it is rushing to
meet them faster then they could imagine.
In the middle of the crisis the Queen, Camilla and Prince Charles know
that burying their heads in the sand is no longer an option.
--
LOL & Godspeed,
Val
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