A couple of weeks ago the Prince of Wales married his long time companion Camilla Parker Bowles.
This event was widely covered by the international media, both print and electronic.
The relationship between his royal highness and Mrs. Parker Bowles is one that aroused considerable controversy among the British people. Prince Charles is no stranger to controversy being a man of strong opinions and one who has no fear of opposing popular sentiment in the pursuit of what he believes to be right.
His opposition to modern industrial farming and agricultural methods such as genetic modification of plants and animals, profligate use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers is one example.
He aroused and still arouses the ire of many large agro-businesses for criticizing them for pursuing methods that, he said, are harmful both to the health of consumers and the environment. He has been accused of meddling in things that are not his concern and about which he knows nothing.
The prince, however, maintained his position and abiding by his own beliefs in humane and environmentally friendly farming methods applied them within his own Duchy of Cornwall with great success.
Another instance of his highness not kowtowing to popular sentiments is his attack on the modernist school of architecture. He accuses architects, in Britain at least, of not designing for the interest of people but rather of pursuing complicated stylistic and intellectual concepts that have no real relevance to society and do not provide a human scale built environment.
In a nutshell, he accuses modernist architecture of being architecture devoid of soul.
Predictably the architectural community was in uproar.
Needless to say, the popular press had a field day and subjected him to great ridicule.
However, the prince with his usual aplomb set up a foundation called “The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment” with a mission to evolve a built environment that is based on traditional values and to create communities which support the human being on all his activity levels — economic, social...etc.
The institute has been a great success and is slowly persuading architects and artists that there is another way.
Prince Charles’ public support for the Muslim community in Britain at a time when they are regarded as fair game is yet another example of his flouting popular sentiments to do what is right.
The crown prince sees it as his duty to protect all members of the British society from persecution and stigmatization regardless of race or creed.
Last week’s wedding was another controversial stand by the prince.
I believe that a great deal of controversy, especially, outside of Britain, would have been avoided if Camilla had looked like Lady Diana, Prince Charles’ first wife.
The most frequent comments were, “Couldn’t he find a prettier woman?” “What does he see in her?” and along these lines. The presumption being that a woman who does not conform to contemporary standards of beauty has no right to be loved by a prince.
We are all programmed to respond in this way by the relentless media campaign to force women to conform to a standard “look”.
This is hammered into us by the television with its endless parade of pop tarts and the magazines with sultry waifs seemingly on heat permanently.
They have reduced women to an image that millions of real women then try to match starving themselves on draconian diets and ruining their health.
Millions of others submit to surgeons’ scalpels to cut off bits of themselves to get the “look”.
Here we see however a woman who does not match the “look” and yet is able to attract and capture the heart of the crown prince of Britain. This must be a comfort to the many women around the world who do not conform to the media’s idea of the ideal woman.
