Royal Visit

First Official Overseas Trip for 56-Year-Old Heir to the Throne and His Wife Since They Married in April

Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in New York on Tuesday for their first royal visit to the U.S.

They paid tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks at Ground Zero and then went to Hanover Square for the unveiling of a memorial park dedicated to the 67 Britons who died when the hijacked jets slammed into the World Trade Center.

Read the story: Prince Charles, Camilla Arrive in New York (AP, Nov. 1)

Washington Post columnist Tina Brown was online Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the royal visit.

Royals Photo Gallery

The royal couple are scheduled to meet with hurricane victims in New Orleans, homeless people in San Francisco and President Bush at the White House.

A transcript follows.

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washingtonpost.com: Welcome to washingtonpost.com Tina Brown.

You were in New York yesterday and last night for some of the various events for Prince Charles and Camilla.

What was your perception of how things went and how do you think the royal couple perceived things?

Tina Brown: It was great deal of nervousness on their part ahead of time. Prince Charles has always been almost phobic about coming back to America. He's always regarded it so much as Diana territory. So I think what they decided to do was sort of low-key and to bring down expectations instead of giving some kind of Hollywood glitz numbe -- what exactly the right tone to strike.

I think it went extremely well. Camilla was what everyone wanted to see and aside from a lousy review in this morning's New York Post, I think they felt enormous relief that there was not bitchy Diana comparisons.

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Fairfax, Va.: Are people being unnecessarily harsh on Camilla? Do you think the criticism and comparisons to Princess Di bother her?

Tina Brown: I think criticism always bothers people no matter how brave a face people put on it. There's no doubt Camilla has been through some very horrible times. But the last two years have certainly not been her low point. The worst thing she went through was when the Camilla-gate tapes were released in 1992 when she literally had to be in hiding and was terribly isolated with an angry husband and an abusive British public and no sight of being able to marry Prince Charles.

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Hunts Point, Wash.: Despite all the fun made over HRH Charles, he, in fact, seems to have a brain, and genuine interests in a number of issues, foremost, the environment. Why is he so pilloried?

Tina Brown: In a funny way Prince Charles's interests have been shown to be extremely prescient. The environmnent, organic farming, urban planning, etc. The British tabloid press is just merciless to all the royals except the Queen and much of that goes back to how the floodgates were let loose when his marriage to Diana broke apart.

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N. Awe: Hi Tina - I love to read your scathing, sharp biting columns. Where/how did you learn to write? Are you American or British? Thanks

Tina Brown: Thank you. I am British-born but I have lived here for 22 years. I'm just about deciding now to become an American citizen which is probably high time, the amount of good times I've had in this country.

I've always been a writer long before I became an editor. It sort of runs in my family.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you think people would complain to the Post if you did NOT cover this story? Why is it that newsworthy?

Tina Brown: It is newsworthy when the heir to the British throne visits here for the first time in 20 years, given the strength and importance of the British-American alliance.

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Nutley, N.J.: Tina, why are they meeting with hurricane survivors; can they really think those who have been through such a disaster will care about meeting royalty?

Tina Brown: Well, I must confess I had the same thought. But in fairness to Prince Charles, I don't think they see this as some kind of photo-op to make them look all caring and concerned. Prince Charles is a passionate advocate for environmental reform. He is continually on the warpath about global warming and I expect that he really wants to got to New Orleans to learn about the climatic and environmental circumstances that brought on the tragedy.

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Washington, D.C.: Dear Ms. Evans: Thanks so much for writing for the Post, as we need your immense wit. I've been a fan since your early days at V.F. It was reported that you curtsied to the Duchess of Cornwall. Since you and your husband, Harold Evans, immigrated to America over twenty years ago, do you still consider yourself a subject of the crown?

Tina Brown: My husband has dual passport but I'm still a British citizen and as such the protocol requires me to curtsy.

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Tina Brown: Thanks for your nice comments about the column.

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La Jolla, Calif.: Does Prince Charles's visit have any political or diplomatic content at all? Has the British government assigned any tasks of this sort to him, to be carried out, for example, when he meets privately with President Bush. Do any politically responsible representatives of the British government accompany the Prince and the Duchess to carry out any official missions?

Tina Brown: The British Foreign Office is always heavily involved in any trip the Prince of Wales makes. It goes over particularly big in Arab countries where they totally relate to him, king-to-king, as it were. There's always a strong subliminal message when Charles goes overseas. In this case, it will be promoting trade and boosting tourism after the July bombing in London. But I wouldn't be surprised if Charles's global warming passions are also considered a good example to President Bush who was no great fan of Kyoto Treaty.

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Falmouth, Maine: An English exchange student stayed with us the last two weeks, a 14-year-old boy. When I mentioned that Charles and Camilla were coming here this week, he said, reflexively, "nobody likes them." He almost looked sheepish afterwards, like he was spoiling it for me. Now that you've lived here for so long, how do you view the Royal Family from a distance? Are they relevant to the mainstream in England anymore, or are they just the ultimate celebrities?

Tina Brown: There's no doubt the royal family took some severe knocks in the last 20 years. The whole trashfest of the late 80's and '90's with Fergie's divorce, Diana and Charles melting down and the trial of Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, letting loose rivers of bad karma. But the Queen is still enormously respected in England and the world. And Prince William and Prince Harry are universally acknowledged to be extraordinarily attractive and decent young men with a nice dash of glamour too.

Charles and Camilla, in a way, are marking time for William and the stability of their marriage will help Prince Charles regain some of the dignity of office that he lost in the Diana years. The real relevance of the monarchy is above and beyond politics. They represent the history and tradition of the country which is an appeal to emotion and not to reason. It's still strong as we saw in the extraordinary turnout for the funeral of the Queen Mother.

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Washington, D.C.: So what is your prediction on when (or if) Charles will ever assume the throne?

Tina Brown: The worst thing for Prince Charles is he never knows the moment when he will get promoted. It could be tomorrow. It could be 25 years from now. The Queen is 80 and her own mother was alive and frisky at 102.

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Arlington, Va.: At the time of Diana's death, public sentiment against Charles and Camilla was high. Is this just a case of the public's chronic short term memory, or has a concerted effort by the royals to enhance her image paid off? It seems like there is virtually no mention of the fact that the very popular Diana was made miserable by their affair.

Tina Brown: Right now Diana has been somewhat painted out of the picture, it's true. Because she is dead no one has much investment in being loyal to her image but my prediction is that her memory will reassert itself when her son is on the throne. That is her ultimate legacy after all -- Prince William.

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Oakton, Va.: I love the U.K. (as well as your sometimes acerbic views on your mother country!), but the allure of royalty eludes me completely. Why on earth should Americans care about Prince Charles, Camilla or the rest of the British royals? Even those who enjoyed the glamour and intrigue Princess Diana injected into daily life have to be asking themselves, "Charles?" "Camilla?"

Tina Brown: Some Americans don't but they always get a very big showing when they come. Last night at the Museum of Modern Art, for instance, it was an invitation everybody wanted to have and there was a crowd outside the British Memorial Gardens waiting to see them. There's no doubt that Diana added a rock star appeal they have never had before or since and I'm sure the ante will be raised once Prince William is on the phone.

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Washington, D.C.: What does their itinerary while in Washington consist of?

Tina Brown: There's a state dinner tonight after a private lunch today with the first family. And tomorrow night the British Embassy is hosting a reception for Charles and Camilla. There are other events I'm not sure of.

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Glover Park - Washington, D.C.: Tina,

I am big fan of your social/political insight of our Anglo-American culture. Do you think Ms. Windsor (Camilla) will ever out-live the "rottweiler" image to the American audience? Do you ever think she would make appearance with Barbara Walters, Lesley Stahl, Oprah, or even Ellen? I would think this would be great P.R. for her and the Royals, and it might humanize her to the folks on this side of the Pond.

Tina Brown: There's no way, I think, that Camilla will ever do a sit-down with anybody. There is a strong view at the palace that TV is a dangerous route to go exposing too much to the public who only hankers in for more. My guess is it won't happen.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you think Prince William or Prince Harry will make a visit to the U.S. anytime soon? It seems like they're much more popular in this country then their father.

Also, do you think Prince William's wedding would draw as much attention as his parents' wedding, or has interest in the royal family completely died down?

Tina Brown: I'm sure that Prince William and Harry will visit the U.S. but that timing is likely to be a year or so away. The goal right now is to reintroduce Charles and Camilla to America and not allow the heat on William to build up to an unmanageable degree as it did for his mother.

I think William's wedding will certainly draw extraordinary interest but it all depends on the kind of wedding he wants to have. I'm not sure that William will want to have a major state affair as Charles and Diana. He may want something that is much more low-key and intimate.

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Cambridge, Mass.: I noticed the BBC headline this morning talks about the hostile U.S. media reaction to the visit and pretty much declares it a flop. What do you think? (Camilla IS rather frumpy, isn't she?)

Tina Brown: There were a lot of advance polls that predicted zero interest but in fact most of the papers this morning except for the New York Post have been very positive about their first day yesterday. It remains to be seen how they play on the West Coast. I think there is a certain amount of empathy for women towards a couple who went through so much and took so long to finally wind up together. It's not the heat of the Diana days, of course, but then these two guys are not exactly spring chickens.

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washingtonpost.com: This concludes our discussion with Tina Brown. Thank you.

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Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.