Prince Charles and Camilla will visit Australia next. Source: news.com.au
IT HAS been almost exactly 145 years since Australia received its first royal visit.
Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred the Duke of Edinburgh, enjoyed the Australian summer of 1867-68, including a week in the small sub-tropical town of Brisbane.
His tour wasn't a complete success - he was shot in Sydney by an Irish nationalist. He survived.
Ahead of next week's tour by Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, here are some facts about the pair.
1 Charles and Camilla are ninth cousins once removed, sharing an ancestor in Henry Cavenish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, who died in 1691. Charles is descended from the Duke's eldest daughter, Camilla from a younger daughter. Camilla's great-grandmother Alice Keppel was the mistress of Charles' great-great grandfather King Edward VII. For many years, Camilla's grandmother Sonia was rumoured to be the King's daughter. If true, the pair would be close to second cousins.
2 Since last year, Charles has been the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. The previous record-holder was Edward VII who waited to take over from Queen Victoria for 59 years, two months and 13 days. Charles became heir apparent at the age of three when his mother became Queen.
The title Prince of Wales is a different matter. It does not automatically go to the heir apparent. Charles was 10 when his mother gave him the title. He will keep it until he dies or becomes King.
3 Charles is the first Prince of Wales since Charles II to bear the name, which has been an unlucky one for Kings. Charles I was executed while Charles II failed to produce an heir so the throne went to his brother, who was deposed. If Charles, 63, were to become King, he would be the second-oldest person to ascend to the throne after William IV in 1830 when he was aged 64.
4 Charles was a mad fan of the radio comedy The Goons and developed a friendship with comedian Spike Milligan. Milligan once skewered the prince as a "grovelling bastard" after he received a letter of congratulations on a stage show. Charles thought this was hilarious.
5 While it's well-known 17-year-old Charles spent six months at school in Australia at Geelong Grammar School's Timbertop campus, it's often forgotten he was three years older than his fellow students and served as a de facto teaching assistant. He fondly remembers being called a "Pommie bastard".
6 Despite the fact he is in line to become head of the Church of England, Charles' own religious views are quite New Age. He makes secret trips to Greek monasteries, is intrigued by the Orthodox Christian churches, has immense respect for most of the Eastern religions and reveres the Dalai Lama.
An Arch Druid attended his ceremonial investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969.
7 The Prince of Wales' shoelaces are ironed by valets each time he takes off his hand-made shoes.
He has more than 60 hand-made suits and his collar stays are made of gold or silver.
8 Charles is the 21st Prince of Wales since 1301 when England conquered Wales.
However, there have been just 10 Prince-sses of Wales, all of whom have held the title through marriage.
The title Princess of Wales does not exist in its own right and female heirs to the throne do not hold it.
Prince Charles with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
There was one arguable exception in Mary I who was heir to her father Henry VIII for most of her life and was often known as Princess of Wales although her father never granted her the title.
Camilla is the 10th Princess of Wales.
Her legal title is Her Royal Highness The Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, Princess of Scotland, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
She uses the second title because Charles's first wife Diana was so closely associated with the senior title.
9 Camilla will legally become Queen if Charles becomes King. They have previously announced she would be known as Princess Consort, the first person to use such a title.
10 The couple own a holiday home in Transylvania, frequently holiday there and can claim a connection to Dracula. Through Charles' great-grandmother, Queen Mary, he can trace his line back to the half-brother of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula.
11 Camilla has two children from her first marriage: Tom Parker Bowles, 37, and Laura Lopes, 34. Laura's three-year-old daughter Eliza Lopes was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
When Charles becomes King, Tom and Laura will be the children of the Queen but will hold no official titles.
Prince Charles with the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla.
12 One of Camilla's favourite moments during Prince William's wedding was when her granddaughter Eliza included a pink fuzzy toy worm in the official family portrait at Buckingham Palace.
It was more than a week before anyone noticed the unauthorised addition to royal history.
It's still there - maybe the Royals don't use Photoshop much.
13 Camilla's engagement ring is less famous than the huge sapphire worn by her husband's first wife, Diana (and now by the Duchess of Cambridge), but it has a more impressive royal history.
The platinum-set, emerald-cut diamond ring was left to Charles by the Queen Mother.
14 When in public with Charles, Camilla is the second-highest ranking woman in England after the Queen. In private settings, when her husband is not with her, she is outranked by the Queen, Anne the Princess Royal and 75-year-old Princess Alexandra, the youngest granddaughter of King George V.
Confusing? Try this:
The Duchess of Cambridge ranks higher than most of the other royal women if Prince William's in the room. If he's not, she doesn't. And she curtseys to princesses Beatrice and Eugenie because they have royal blood and she doesn't.
15 Camilla was a committed smoker most of her life but is beleived to have given up the habit.
16 They are not vegetarian - they hunt and kill their own game and fish. Charles is devoted to organic foods and has dragged his wife along with him in his crusade.
17 Camilla keeps a private residence where she can get away from it all - a country house in the Cotswolds where no shoelaces get ironed.
18 Camilla is a massive fan of the Danish TV crime series The Killing.
19 Camilla's not quite as low-maintenance as she likes people to believe.
She has regular, two-hour £450 ($700) colouring appointments in Mayfair and was said to be a bit unhappy at how light her hair was for the royal wedding.
She uses bee-venom facials and bee-venom face-cream and is responsible for getting Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, her first appointments with her most important stylists.
20 Camilla often wears Spanx, the slimming underwear. Or at least human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy said she said she did, as reported in The Australian Women's Weekly.
No comments:
Post a Comment