Princess Diana's home village lukewarm to news of Charles-Camilla wedding

By: JANELLE STECKLEIN - Associated Press | Thursday, February 10, 2005 9:30 PM PST ∞

GREAT BRINGTON, England -- There's a strong respect for tradition in Great Brington, a tidy, tiny village near Princess Diana's grave and childhood home -- and an enduring loyalty to the princess, who died in a car accident in 1997.

Many villagers said Thursday they accepted Prince Charles' decision to marry longtime companion Camilla Parker Bowles. But many were glad Parker Bowles -- whom Diana blamed for the breakup of her marriage -- would not take Diana's title, Princess of Wales, or ever reign as queen.

"They should be allowed to do whatever they want and it is as simple as that," said Jacqui Ellard, 33, manager of the Althorp Coaching Inn Fox and Hounds, a centuries-old pub in the village 70 miles northwest of London. "It is nobody else's business but their own."

However, she added: "I don't think people will see her (Parker Bowles) as queen. I think regardless of time there will always be a certain stigma."

Others saw things differently.

"I don't think they should get married," said retiree Ann Rogers, 60. "There is a good feeling towards Diana, most people feel the same way.

"If he does want to marry her, he should abdicate. If he does marry her, she shouldn't be queen," she added.

Charles' Clarence House office said Parker Bowles, 57, would take the title Duchess of Cornwall, rather than Princess of Wales, when she and the 56-year-old Prince of Wales marry on April 8. If Charles becomes king, she will be known as Princess Consort rather than queen.

Great Brington bar worker Alison Watson, 37, approved of that choice, and of the couple's decision to have a low-key civil ceremony rather than a church wedding. She said "a huge wedding ... would upset quite a few people."

"The royal family we always expect to do the right thing," she said. "Giving away Diana's title wouldn't really be that.

"Although this is a modern world, they should really still follow the traditions and the rules. We all know that Charles did wrong by Diana, but life goes on and I don't begrudge him his happiness."

The royal wedding was a major topic of conversation at the local pub Thursday, though not everyone was interested.

"I could care less," said Roger Warburton, 58. "I hope there are more important things in the world than Charles remarrying."

Nearby Althorp House and its estate have been home to Diana's ancestors, the Spencer family, since 1508. Her brother, Earl Spencer, still lives in the imposing stone home amid the manicured grounds where Diana is buried on an island in the middle of an ornamental lake.

Spencer said he would not comment on Charles' decision. The iron gate to his estate was locked shut on a rainy Thursday evening, and no members of the public had turned up at the well-known site.

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