| PHOTO GALLERY: Camilla Parker (Disem)Bowles |
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| Written by Joanne Leyland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 05 July 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Location: Swansea Date: Tuesday 4th July 2006  The second day of Charles and Camilla's annual summer tour of the Principality saw the couple undertake a series of engagements in South Wales. And it has to be said, they both looked much more relaxed and happier with each other than they have done in recent days.Just hours before they embarked on their three-and-a-half day visit to Wales, reports claimed the Prince went into a raging temper having confronted Camilla over her reluctance to take on more official engagements, a source close to the royals alleging: "These rows have been building up. Four weeks ago they had an almighty argument at Highgrove. It got so bad that Charles kicked out at an expensive chair and it broke into several pieces." "Charles always likes to get his own way. He hasn't been backing down in any of these arguments. The tension has been like a ticking timebomb. Now it's finally gone off."  Following what are clearly damaging claims, however, an aide was quick to leap to the defence of Charles and Camilla, explaining that the Prince wasn't angry with his wife, explaining: "He's as protective of her as ever. In his eyes, Camilla can do no wrong."We can only hope this isn't just more PR spin and that the Royal Family aren't headed for more marital strife.  As always, Prince Charles didn't mind making a spectacle of himself, here donning a pair of rather hefty 3D glasses to watch a science display.The Prince is undoubtedly much more relaxed on public engagements these days, although it should be remembered that, despite the way in which much of the Charles and Diana history has been rewritten, there were many occasions on which, early in the marriage, Prince Charles looked equally happy and relaxed whilst on duty with Diana, the two often giggling at some absurdity or sharing a smile and offering mutual encouragement. Although she too appears happy on the majority of public appearances, it's clear that Camilla (like Diana) has struggled to adapt to her new life, one of her friends admitting: "Camilla doesn't want to do any more engagements than she already does. She has spent most of her life as a normal person and doesn't want to be thrust into the spotlight at her age. She doesn't care which royal carries out more engagements than the other."  The
Duchess of Cornwall has been under intense scrutiny this past week
following the official Clarence House report which showed she undertook
only around a third of the engagements carried out by the likes of Prince
Charles and the 80-year-old Queen and her 85-year-old husband, Prince Philip.It already being public knowledge that the royal couple's former Spin doctor, Mark Bolland, questioned her motivation, saying she's "monumentally lazy", Camilla is now under pressure to perform more public duties and tours such as the present one to Wales will undoubtedly help.  However,
the visit has received very little coverage, especially in the national
media. Not one British TV news station has covered any of the tour, all of which doesn't help in showing the world that Charles and Camilla are out there, undertaking public duties and meeting the people, many of whom are genuinely welcoming of the once controversial royals.As Charles himself knows too well, it is only when the royals are deemed to be involved in 'scandal' that the likes of Charles and Camilla receive media coverage.  Camilla laughs as she joins her husband in wearing a pair of 3D glasses, in the process giving the watching photographers a good excuse to make fun of the royal pair. But things were about to get worse for the Duchess...........  During a visit to a schoolroom in Swansea, Camilla was put in an awkward position as, in front of the media, she was asked to disembowel a Mummy!But it wasn't quite as bad as it sounds. Looking more than a little shocked at the request, Camilla duly did her duty, reaching into the lower half of the (thankfully!) model dummy, removing an item which she then held in her hands, not quite knowing what she was supposed to do with it. While the children looked bemused, the other adults in the room — led by her own husband, Charles — were giggling away at her obvious discomfort, before Camilla too broke into laughter at the absurdity of the situation. It's moments like this she must indeed wonder what on earth she's signed up for! Comment on this article
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