The missed opportunity of December 9, 2010. How Prince Charles in an instant lost the chance to show his stuff and wow us all!

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 : Please feel free to comment and call me 757-962-2482 Howie martell

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of
Worldprofit, Inc., www.worldprofit.com where
small and home-based businesses learn how to
profit online. Attend Dr. Lant’s live webcast
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visitors to the website of your choice! For details
on Dr. Lant’s 18 best-selling business books,
go to www.jeffreylant.com His bookInsubstantial
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.