Sunday, November 21, 2010

'I give their marriage seven years!' Fury at bishop's slur on 'shallow' Royal couple

By Jonathan Petre
Last updated at 10:55 AM on 21st November 2010

Speculation grows that the date of the wedding will be Thursday, April 28
Friction surfaces between Buckingham Palace and Prince William’s own aides over the organisation of the wedding
William celebrates his engagement with friends in Blackpool
It emerges that the married couple may live at Kensington Palace, Princess Diana’s old home

A prominent bishop has provoked a storm of outrage by likening Prince William and Kate Middleton to ‘shallow celebrities’ and predicting their marriage will last just seven years.
On his Facebook page, Church of England Bishop Pete Broadbent describes the Royal Family as ‘philanderers’ with a record of marriage break-ups who ‘cost an arm and a leg’.

'Disrespectful': The Bishop linked William and Kate Middleton to 'shallow celebrities', predicting that their marriage wouldl last just seven years

He also denounces the ‘nauseating tosh’ surrounding the ‘national flimflam’ of the wedding and says the basis of the Monarchy is ‘corrupt and sexist’.
In a reference to the 1981 marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, he adds: ‘I managed to avoid the last disaster in slow motion between Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll, and I hope to avoid this one too.’

More...

His comments are sure to dismay his immediate superior, the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, who is a close friend of Prince Charles.
The posts by Bishop Broadbent, the Bishop of Willesden in North-West London for ten years, were condemned last night as ‘cruel’ and ‘disrespectful’ by MPs and Church members.

The furore could prove particularly embarrassing to Bishop Chartres as Church sources have suggested he may conduct the wedding service – although it would be a break with tradition not to use the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Shocking comments: Church of England Bishop Pete Broadbent also denounces the 'nauseating tosh' surrounding the Royal Wedding

'Extremely rude': Tory MP Nicholas Soames (left) said Bishop Pete Broadbent's comments were 'not what one expects from a bishop'

To add to the embarrassment, the row comes just two days before the Queen opens a new session of the General Synod. But rather than censure the Bishop, Lambeth Palace said: ‘[He] is entitled to his views.’
Tory MP Nicholas Soames, a friend of Prince Charles, last night denounced the Bishop’s comments as ‘absurd’ and ‘ridiculous’, saying: ‘They are extremely rude, not what one expects from a bishop.’
Synod member and former MP Canon Peter Bruinvels added: ‘This is deeply disappointing and disrespectful. The Bishop should be reminded that we are an established Church in which the Monarch plays an integral role.’
Fellow Synod member Alison Ruoff said the comments were ‘cruel, childish, unnecessary and unchristian’.
Bishop Broadbent – a founder member of the Church’s powerful ‘Cabinet’, the Archbishops’ Council – first commented on the Royal wedding on his Twitter account shortly after the couple announced their engagement on Tuesday.
He said: ‘Need to work out what date in the spring or summer I should be booking my republican day trip to France.’

Happy couple: William and Kate dance together at a University Gala Dinner in 2004

The remark then appeared on his Facebook page, sparking comments, including one asking: ‘Isn’t the Queen your boss?’ Cambridge-educated Bishop Broadbent replied: ‘I think you’ll find that God and the Bishop of London are my bosses. I am a citizen, not a subject!’

IS IT APRIL 28TH?

Informed sources have predicted that the Royal wedding will be on April 28.

The date – the Thursday after Easter – would please Prince William, who is said to want to marry ‘sooner rather than later’.

It is an auspicious day to get married, according to Chinese astrology. Notable historical events on April 28 include Fletcher Christian leading a mutiny against William Bligh, captain of
HMS Bounty, in 1789.

In 1945 Mussolini was executed and in 1967, heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted into the army and was stripped of his title.

On April 28, 1969, Charles de Gaulle resigned as French president. And in 1986 the Soviet Union owned up to a nuclear accident at Chernobyl. In 2001, US businessman Dennis Tito paid £14 million to be the world’s first space tourist.

In response to another comment, he said: ‘The Windsors and their predecessors don’t have a good track record on the permanence of marriage. But their marriage is their business. I don’t know them, and have no part in celebrating it. I just wish we weren’t paying for it.’
Warming to his task, the Bishop’s next post said: ‘I think we need a party in Calais for
all good republicans who can’t stand the nauseating tosh that surrounds this event.’
He criticised the media for producing ‘fawning deferential nonsense . . . out of their every orifice’, and added: ‘I managed to avoid the last disaster in slow motion between Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll, and hope to avoid this one too.’
In another post the Bishop, 58, explained his position more fully: ‘(a) I don’t care about the Royals. I’m a republican.
‘(b) History: more broken marriages and philanderers among these people than not. Count them up, back through the ages.
‘(c) They cost us an arm and a leg.
‘(d) Talent isn’t passed on through peoples’ bloodstock. The hereditary principle is corrupt and sexist.
‘(e) As with most shallow celebrities . . . they will be set up to fail by the gutter press.’
He said the wedding should belong to the family and was not ‘some piece of national flimflam’. In his final post, which was criticised as ‘too harsh’ by another contributor, he said: ‘I give the marriage seven years.’

ROYAL COUPLE MAY MOVE INTO DIANA'S HOME AFTER WEDDING

Prince William and Kate Middleton are considering moving into Kensington Palace, the home of his late mother, after they are married.
Royal aides yesterday confirmed that the palace in West London is one of several being considered.
The couple currently share a floor of Clarence House with Prince Harry. But the living quarters, where Prince Charles and Camilla also stay when in London, are not spacious and the couple want their ‘own pad’.

Childhood home: Prince William and Kate Middleton could live in Kensington Palace, which is full of memories of his late mother

‘They are like any couple in that they want their own space and privacy once married,’ explained an aide. ‘They will live in Anglesey for a couple of years while William works with the RAF, but they will need a London base.
‘Kensington Palace is a possibility along with state apartments at St James’s Palace and Buckingham Palace.’
Kensington Palace, dubbed ‘KP’ by the late Princess of Wales, is divided into apartments for senior Royal staff and some Royal Family members, including Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
It is, of course, where William and Harry lived for much of their childhood. Diana would take them shopping on nearby Kensington High Street, where Kate is often seen in the fashion stores.
If William and Kate do move into Kensington Palace, it will be impossible for the comparisons between her and Diana not to persist. A spokesman for Prince William said: ‘The Prince has not made any decisions on this.’

Lambeth Palace said last night: ‘Bishop Broadbent is entitled to his views but we would reiterate our great delight at the news and wish the Royal couple every blessing.’
The Bishop of London could not be reached for a comment, while Clarence House said it did not wish to comment.
When approached at his home by The Mail on Sunday yesterday, Bishop Broadbent said: ‘I’m not speaking to you. I really am not speaking to you. If you want to run a gutter story, run a gutter story. Bye.’