LONDON, Feb 10 (AFP) - People in London reacted coolly Thursday to the news that Prince Charles will marry longtime partner Camilla Parker Bowles, and said she was not a patch on his glamourous first wife, the late Princess Diana.
The public also came out strongly against the possiblity of the 57-year-old divorcee becoming Queen, saying that Charles, who is first in line to the throne, should step aside to make way for his hugely popular son William.
"It is about time they got married as he was obviously never going to give her up," said Arthur Mills, 69, a retiree out shopping along London`s Bond Street with his wife Jane, who nodded her head in agreement.
"She is no comparison to Diana," he said, adding that he hoped Charles would do "the right thing and step aside to make way for (eldest son) William as the future King of England".
Jeane Holt, a housewife from Essex, east of London, and her friend Edna Turner, 64, a retiree from the same area said Charles and Camilla -- whose April wedding was announced Thursday -- deserved each other.
"They certainly suit each other as they are both a pair of drips," said Holt, on a day-trip to the British capital.
Commenting on the wedding date, Turner quipped: "They say they are going to be married on April 8 but I think it should be the 1st -- April Fool`s Day."
As for the prospect of a future "Queen Camilla", the pair, both royal family supporters, cringed in horror.
"I loved Diana, so I don`t want Charles to be king, especially with Camilla as his wife, he is not with the people he is more with his flowers," Holt said.
She need not have worried: a spokesman for Charles said she would be known as the Princess Consort if Charles becomes king.
Most people approached by AFP agreed that Charles should be allowed to marry the woman he has been at his side since Diana`s death in 1997, but balked at the idea of divorcees one day becoming king and queen.
"I am not impressed. I don`t mind the two of them getting married but there is no way they should become king and queen," said Dee Davis, 45, unemployed.
But some felt that the royal family should be allowed to do what it liked, as the monarchy has no real impact on people`s day-to-day life.
"They love each other so they should be allowed to get married," said Robert Horton, 28, from South Africa who was rushing on his way to a job interview.
"I am not sure about her becoming queen though as she has probably not had the right training. At the same time, may be it would do the royal family some good to have new blood in the family and a fresh perspective," he said.
Richard Hartley, 35, a civil engineer, was utterly indifferent.
"It doesn`t bother me in the slightest. Whatever goes on with the royal family it has no effect on my life. They are merely a symbol and what they do with their private lives is up to them," he said.
02/10/2005 13:29 GMT - AFP