(CBS) 
"Keep smiling," he could be heard to tell his father, who had just referred to the gathered media as "bloody people." And, of course, William (thank his mother) is cover boy material, which in this celebrity age, counts.

Whenever Charles is involved in a royal gaffe the "Let William be king" chorus begins to chant. Forget it. Charles, who has spent his entire life waiting for the job to open up, isn’t about to defer to his son.

But the Williamites can take heart in the likelihood that the queen comes from a line of long-lived women (her mother lived to 101) and that Charles, if he doesn’t die before his mother – not out of the question – may not reign for long.

Charles’ problems have not been diminished by the comedy of errors that led up to the wedding. If there’s one thing the royals are still thought to be able to do, it’s throw a party, especially a wedding party.

Yet the peculiar circumstance of a divorced future king and head of the Church of England re-marrying to a woman who is divorced herself and with whom he has a very public, very long affair, has complicated matters.

What kind of marriage ceremony could it be? (Civil.) Where could it be held? (In Windsor Castle at first, but then shifted to the local town hall when it emerged that licensing Windsor would allow anyone to apply to be married there.)

Who would be there? (Not the queen.) Would there be a lavish reception? (No, the queen would host a cocktail party for 750 of their closest friends.) Will Camilla be queen when Charles becomes king? (No – according to them. Yes – according to law.) And so it goes.

What’s most striking in all this is how little it appears to matter. A future king marries and hardly anybody seems to care. The monarchy may still perform a constitutional function in Britain and still contribute to the Old World hail Fredonia appeal to tourists, but its days as an institution at the center of British life are over. The t-shirt is proof of that.