12 February 2005	Saturday	02 Muharram 1426

LONDON, Feb 11: British heir to the throne Prince Charles may have won public support for his engagement to lover Camilla Parker Bowles but he faces a struggle to convince the nation he should one day be king, a poll showed on Friday.

Two-thirds of Britons accept Charles's plans to marry Camilla, his mistress during his turbulent marriage to the late Princess Diana, the YouGov survey in the Daily Telegraph newspaper found.

But a narrow majority wants the monarchy to skip a generation, with Queen Elizabeth handing the crown to her grandson Prince William, 22, on her death or abdication. "He cannot remarry and ascend the throne," Diana's former butler Paul Burrell wrote in the Daily Mirror.

"Charles should renounce his birthright and allow Prince William to be heir apparent." Royal watchers say Prince Charles, 56, would never consider such a move, which would overturn the centuries-old convention of the monarch's eldest son assuming the throne.

Aware of public misgivings over his lover, Charles ruled out Camilla becoming queen once he becomes king. The Telegraph's YouGov survey was conducted within hours of Thursday's announcement that Charles is to marry mother of two Camilla, 57, on April 8.

It found 41 per cent would prefer William to be the next monarch, with 37 per cent favouring Charles. A similar poll in Nov 2002 put Charles on 48 percent and William on 28. -Reuters