Royal Visit Sparks Discussion

HRH Prince Charles has just spent 3 days in Poland as part of a 9-day trip which includes Hungary and the Czech Republic. Originally, my plan was to talk about his visit, tell you where he went and who he met, but as I started to do my research I was struck by the vitriol his visit has sparked among the expats. For the past 4 days I've been following a heated discussion on-line.
It started on day 1 of the visit. Prince Charles, accompanied by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, met with President Lech Kaczynski and his wife and with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife. There was the usual press photo call and as you would expect Prince Charles obliged with a fixed-smile, cuff link-fiddling pose. Camilla looked more like a deer caught in headlights. Afterwards, they all moved behind closed doors to talk about environmental issues and Charles admiration for Poland's soldiers during WWII, especially with the RAF. A gala dinner followed, where, we were proudly told, EU approved goat's cheese from the mountains was served.
It all sounds pretty par for the course, so why did people get hot under the collar? First-off, the Duchess of Cornwall was called 'Camilla Parker Bowles' a couple of times. I heard it once on TVN24 and remember commenting to my husband and apparently it was in the press, too. That's where the first on-line comment began, "please note......should always be referred to as Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall," they said. So that's pretty tame isn't it? However, someone then tried to explain that their marriage (Prince Charles and Camilla) was constitutionally illegal, for if it was legal Camilla would be called Princess Camilla, Princess of Wales. This led to another comment that there was only one Princess of Wales and she died in Paris. Finally, the subject was put to bed by another comment explaining to all that "Tony Blair changed the law so the marriage of Charles/jug eared loony heir to the throne could marry Camilla/horse face so it's a constitutionally legal marriage" - I kid you not and not my words by the way!
More feathers were ruffled that first day, too. It seems that at least one opinion is that Prince Charles has no business here "except to apologize for his country not keeping it's word during and after WWII," but this was countered by another explaining that Britain was "the junior allied power, bankrupt at the end of the war" and had little to back up any protest. So much emotion and that's only after day 1.
The next day, Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall (I don't want to offend anyone), had planned a visit to the Bialowieza Primeval Forest - sounds fun doesn't it girls! No surprise to me, Camilla begged-off. The British Embassy official saying she had 'back problems'. I have absolutely no proof, but if you ask me, she woke up (probably far too early because the forest is a fair way from Warsaw), saw the weather and said ' Darling, you go alone. You'll have so much more fun without me'!! Alone he did go, to see the largest remaining herd of European Bison or Zubr and to discuss ways of preserving the areas natural environment. Prince Charles also visited an 18th century mosque in the village of Kruszyniany which is populated by descendants of Tatars who make up much of Poland's Muslim population. The Duchess of Cornwall spent the day in the capital 'lying low'. It appears this is a woman who gets what she wants, as there were plans for her to visit the newly-opened Chopin museum alone, but as far as I know this didn't happen.
On their last day, the royal couple met with Polish troops from the 1st Armoured Brigade, who are about to be deployed to Afghanistan. There was an inspection and small demonstration of the soldiers' military skills. The royal visit was seen as confirmation of the UK's appreciation of Poland's contribution to the NATO-led mission. The on-line discussion continued here. One person angrily wrote that Polish soldiers "don't belong to (the) failed empire of the UK. What is the purpose of this meeting?" The answer came back quickly that the UK and Poland were NATO allies, that there were "strong military ties" and that "at least the royal couple were taking notice of Polish sacrifices" in Afghanistan.
I wouldn't really say that this visit has been a resounding success. Perhaps such visits are simply to promote Britain's relations with ex-communist countries which are now EU members, as British newspapers have been suggesting. The final word goes to, the appropriately named 'Kamila' who wrote "these trips are quite costly (for Poland). I don't mind foreign visitors as long as they help promote the image of this country." Which ever side of the fence you sit though, I'm pretty sure that had Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall omitted Poland on their tour and chosen to go to Slovakia instead, it would have been taken as a snub and discussion on-line would have tripled.

P.S. I do have an inkling that HRH just wanted to see the zubr.