The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's tour of Egypt has finally received extensive coverage in the British media. But it might not be in quite the way the royal couple had hoped.
On Tuesday, TV news was primarily concerned with the condemnation by a group of British MPs of the costs and running of the Diana memorial fountain than covering the royal tour of Egypt. In comparison, Charles and Camilla's first full day in Egypt resulted in very little coverage.
It must have been music to the ears of Clarence House aides and maybe even the royal couple themselves, when they discovered the Prince and Duchess are on the front pages...that is until they realised just why Camilla is headline news back home.
Visiting the Al-Azhar temple in Cairo, Camilla respectfully dressed demurely by wearing a headscarf and a £1,500 trouser suit by her favourite designer Robinson Valentine so as to cover any bare flesh. Camilla, however, still wore red nail varnish on her toes, visible through sheer pop socks.
The image immediately drew stark comparisons with that of Diana who visited a temple in Egypt during a solo tour she made in 1992.
Worse for the royal couple: all of the papers are reminding readers just why an unhappy looking Diana was in Egypt alone — her husband Charles had gone on holiday to Turkey with a group of friends which included Camilla.
Perhaps the craziest (and most questionable, in terms of taste?) headline of the day is the front page of the Daily Star. Now I have to say, it's not a paper I myself would buy — if you're reading this in America, the Star is rather like your National Enquirer — as just look at that headline! 'Diana Ghost Has Royals By The Ghoulies'.
Although
the paper dubs this a 'Royal Exclusive' (surely with tongues firmly in
cheeks?) the essence of the story is exactly the same as every other
newspaper's coverage: that Diana is haunting this royal tour of Egypt.
A 'senior royal aide' tells the Star: "The spirit of Diana still haunts the royal family, but especially Charles and Camilla. Whatever they do, wherever they go, whatever they wear, people will always make comparisons with Diana. Inevitably, there are a large number of people who will never believe any royal can do it as well as Princess Diana."
"Charles and Camilla can't escape. The first question anyone asks about is Diana. It's 'Diana this' and 'Diana that' for them. Camilla is her own woman and she has a big job on her hands."
Not one newspaper shows any pictures of Prince Charles, despite the fact he made a significant speech in which he criticised the offensive Danish cartoons which satirised the Prophet Mohammed.
Charles told an audience of specially invited Islamic scholars: "The recent ghastly strife and anger over the Danish cartoons shows the danger that comes of our failure to listen and to respect what is precious and sacred to others."
"In my view, the true mark of a civilised society is the respect it pays to minorities and to strangers."
However, as happened so often during his first marriage, the photographers were again more interested in Camilla. As Charles spoke, his wife was attracting attention by donning a pair of glasses — which she informed inquisitive journalists she has been "wearing for years" — for the first time in public.
Later in the day it was Charles who could have done with the spectacles as he tripped whilst climbing some steep steps. His stumble caused Camilla to wag her finger at him and joke: "You were told not to do that."
Meanwhile, Camilla is reported to have been "lost for words" but latterly "thrilled to bits" at the news that she has been named Spouse of the Year by the Oldie magazine.
Today, the Prince and his wife have been visiting a Cairo sanctuary for working horses, mules and donkeys suffering pain.
The visit brought a rather odd remark from Charles who, on seeing a donkey eating a treat offered by his wife, turned to Camilla and said: "Your first carrot, darling."
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I am glad the news is comparing Camilla to Diana. Yes, Diana was a whole lot more than Camilla will ever be. She should have won the spouse of the year. After all, she spent all those years trying to hold on to her husband all the while he was running to Camilla!!
