By the look of their broad grins (tempered slightly by a certain nervousness in demeanour), it’s a great treat for some of the stars of one of Britain’s longest running soaps – Charles “The Prince” Windsor and “The Duchess” Camilla – to meet actual television royalty. Shown around Albert Square and mooching around Walford Market, Charles and his missus are greeted by such famous dignitaries as Princess Sharon of Watts (Letitia Dean), Kathy of Beale-Mitchell-Sullivan (Gillian Taylforth), and of course The King himself: HM King Michael, known to his subjects as Mick, By the Grace of Gawd, Scourge of that T**t Cameron, and Defender of the Queen Vic (Danny Dyer, direct descendant of William the Conqueror and Charlemagne, as it goes). Through all his trials he retains a serene dignity.
Of course, Charles and Camilla have had quite a few dramatic storylines of their own over the years. Affairs, a couple of divorces, a tragic death that no one likes to talk about very much, wayward, bickering kids, a dodgy younger brother the coppers came after. Back in 1992, viewers may remember when one of Charles’ chain of country house boozers, The Windsor Castle, got burned down – and it wasn’t even insured! No one believed the plot twist that the taxpayer would end up covering the damage, but there you go.
