England’s Merry Widower Celebrates a Flashy 50th

On a visit to London a couple of weeks ago--I prefer London to Los Angeles this time of year; it’s got pro football--what surprised me most was how happy a 50th birthday Prince Charles had.

There was the prince, pretending to dance “The Full Monty” in an impromptu chorus line with one of the stars of that comic male striptease film, Hugo Speer.

(“He’s a natural,” Speer said later. “It looks like he’s been practicing in his bedroom.”)

And there was the prince, pretending to be a waiter in a Lyceum Theatre sketch, waiting on actors Roger Moore and Stephen Fry with a napkin folded over one arm.

And there was the prince, positively beaming as Geri Halliwell, formerly one of the Spice Girls, pulled a Marilyn Monroe and serenaded him with a breathless “Happy Birthday to You.”

Later came a party at Highgrove, where the prince and his lady fair, Camilla Parker Bowles, danced cheek to cheek to the strains of a song by Abba, supposedly one of their favorites--a song called “Dancing Queen.”

Before the party was over, Prince William, 16, son of Diana, stood up, gave a toast to his dad and added one more request:

“Give us the full monty!” William said.

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I guess life really does go on, that what’s past really is past. Princess Diana is gone 14 months now, time marches on and Charles’ popularity is reportedly at an all-time high--a 63% approval rating, in one leading poll--having roller-coastered in much the way President Clinton’s has, up and down, down and up.

Funny how one can misread a situation from afar. All along I have been laboring under a couple of delusions about the British, one being that their fondness for Prince Charles was a subdued one at best, the other being that their prince was in no way, shape or form a fun-loving fellow. Frankly, I wasn’t aware Charles knew how to have a good time.

It turns out he’s a happy chap.

Regarding this “Full Monty” business, for instance, Charles says he has seen the film twice and--although falling short of actual practice in his bedroom--has indeed been given some choreography tips on how to shake his royal booty while standing in line with a few of the lads.

To help mark his birthday, Charles was even presented with a special cake. It was baked in the shape of a security guard’s hat from the film. In icing were the words: “The Full Monarchy.”

Who knew Charlie was so jolly?

Not I, that’s for sure. I seem to remember him playing polo for fun, and looking frightfully serious at function after function, which was undoubtedly at times an occupational hazard.

But since Diana’s death, after all the rancor and all the rumors and a considerable amount of bashing of the royals, Prince Charles has not cut, perhaps, a more sympathetic figure with his subjects, but evidently has endeavored to be a more congenial one. He seems to radiate a new warmth, possibly in part from having developed a closer relationship with his two sons.

There is a self-effacement, also, in some of the things Charles says and does.

“I don’t quite know how either of my parents have put up with me since 1948,” he said at a Buckingham Palace birthday party thrown for him by the queen.

At one point in his thank you speech, he even called her “Mummy.”

That party came 24 hours before the one Camilla Parker Bowles tossed for Charles, at the same place where he had thrown a 50th birthday ball for her in the summer of 1997--a few weeks before Diana died.

Parker Bowles is now a very public part of the prince’s world, so much so that while I was visiting London, one of the top stories in the local press had a high-ranking British clergyman strongly suggesting that Charles go ahead and marry Camilla and be done with it.

In times past, Camilla reportedly came to visit Charles hidden in the trunk of a car.

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Only a few weeks ago, a newly published book incensed many in Britain by alleging that Diana once threatened Camilla’s life for being a royal home-wrecker.

Some believed that Charles privately leaked this story to help improve Camilla’s image, but he strongly denied it.

I read while I was there that something like 80% of those polled in Great Britain would be in favor of Charles marrying Camilla.

They must just want another royal wedding and reception, to see exactly how the prince gets up to dance.

Mike Downey’s column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Write to him at Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053, or e-mail mike.downey@latimes.com.