She of little charity
From Mr Paul Rochester Sir: Simon Heifer criticised Mark Bolland for many things (`Court in the act', 1 December), but complimented him on his successful 'Operation PB'. Apparently, the consequence of Mr Bolland's efforts is that 'Mrs Parker Bowles is seen as a jolly, caring, unstuffy woman, who does abundant good works and who might, incidentally, be a perfectly acceptable consort to the Prince one day'.
Really? True, the public does not appear actively to hate her as it once did, but to suggest that it sees her in the above light is inaccurate. Firstly, Mrs Parker Bowles does not undertake 'abundant good works' by any stretch of the imagination. She was pushed into getting actively involved in the osteoporosis charity. Before this, she had never done anything for anyone outside her own family and friends. If she had, I am sure that Mr Bolland would have lost no time in letting us know. It is also clear that the osteoporosis charity is the only one that she is involved with, and that she has no intention of doing anything else.
Secondly, in the light of constant negative polls on the subject, to say that the public sees Mrs Parker Bowles as 'a perfectly acceptable consort to the Prince one day' is obvious nonsense. For example, only this summer, some 11,000 people took part in a GMTV telephone poll on the question as to whether the Prince should marry her. Seventy per cent said no. This is Middle England speaking. If the Prince and Mr Bolland have not convinced them by now, I don't think that they are ever going to.
Paul Rochester
London SW7
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