Daily Press from Newport News, Virginia • Page 3

A21 'Royalty Fans 9 1 Visit From Charles Daily Press, Newport News. Virginia. Sunday. May 3, 1981 Thrills By i I I -X-w in I iK 1 I 1 1 I if VJ 1 II 1 i UVj- tA-Al 1 -mPitV irir-nirri --ZV, By DAVID ALLEN Staff Reporter WILLIAMSBURG Prince Charles was greeted in Williamsburg with a red carpet and cheers from a throng of well-wishers Saturday as he landed at Barksdale Field at the College of William and Mary. He arrived about four minutes late, but it seemed no one minded as they craned they necks for a better look at the future king of England.

Three members of the Littlepage family of Williamsburg were among the first to gather at the roped-off area bordered by Jamestown and Old Campus roads. They hoped a 6-foot-wide Union Jack would entice the prince to stroll over for a few words. "We're true Anglophiles," Barbara Littlepage said. "We like anything that's British." Standing next to her was Gary, her son. a highway department employee who held a smaller British flag.

His sister, Susie, held on to the flag's big brother. "Can't you tell by our name why we're here?" their mom asked. "It's English. We've all been to England and Gary's brother is in the Air Force in England. We love London." The Littlepages were to be disappointed.

The prince's helicopter landed about 50 yards in front of them and the prince exited from the opposite side. Also disappointed were two seniors from Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, who woke up at 5 a.m. to get a good view of the prince's landing. They were camped out on a blanket placed just under the green rope surrounding the landing field. But the first helicopter landed just in front of them, blocking their view of the prince who landed a minute later.

"We're royalty fans," said Evelyn Waites. from Tazewell. "We graduate next Sunday and thought this would be something fun to do together before we leave school. But we had exams yesterday and it was a disaster. We were hardly able to concentrate." Miss Waites and her friend, Julie Schaef-fer, of Baltimore, spent the morning browsing through a bookstore in nearby Mer chants Square, buying up every souvenir of the prince's visit they could find.

As they waited on the cool grass for the prince to land, they thumbed through a picture book about the prince and a copy of his biography by Anthony Holden. "We also bought one of those tea towels, the one with Prince Charles' and Lady Diana's faces on them. You know, the ones Buckingham Palace doesn't like," Miss Waites said. "But we couldn't resist." Just down the line from the students from Lynchburg, was Helen Littlejohns of London, who is staying in Williamsburg for a few months at the home of a friend. She beamed at the attention her prince was getting from the American crowd.

"It's very gratifying to know Americans think so much of him," Mrs. Littlejohns said. "I'm going home in July, in time, I hope, for the royal wedding. I live near the cathedral where they are getting married." Other spectators of British descent were anxiously awaiting the prince's visit. "Princess Heather of Sweetbriar just had to come," said Bernice Verbyla of Portsmouth as her husband, Bob, held tightly to their English bulldog's leash.

"We came last night to get an early place near the ropes, but by the looks of it we could have taken our time." About 1,500 people, far below earlier projections, were on hand to greet the prince. The Verbylas said they had been talking to Princess Heather about Prince Charles' visit for weeks. "We even trained her to curtsy," Mrs. Verbylas said. But the princess would not curtsy on command.

She was too taken with "Barnacle Bull," a young bulldog from Williamsburg who brought his owners, Robert and Emily Spurgeon of Williamsburg, down to the field. "He wanted to see his future monarch," Mrs. Spurgeon said. But Bull and his brindled friend from Portsmouth hit it off quite well, paying little attention to the excitement of the crowd awaiting the prince's arrival. As soon as the prince's helicopter landed, two men hauled a long red carpet to the front of its exit ramp.

A half dozen aides and secu rity men disembarked first, followed a moment later by the prince, dressed in a light gray suit. With a slight spring in his step, the Prince Charles walked toward Virginia Gov. John N. Dalton and the official greeting. After introductions, the entourage began to move toward waiting limousines that would take them to the home of college president Thomas A.

Graves, but the prince paused to speak to members of the college's Queens Guard, a ceremonial guard unit dressed like the Buckingham Palace Guard. Charles left the greeting party behind and walked to the guard commander and spoke, hands held behind his back, for a few moments while the rest of the official party waited. After he rejoined the group, the prince waved to a group of college girls who held high a sign reading "Hi Charlie." The only protesters on hand for the prince's visit were a group of William and Mary freshmen who carried a hastily assembled banner asking the prince to leave "Ireland for the Irish." But their message was printed on about five feet of green computer paper tacked onto wooden slats and was torn apart by the propwash of the landing helicopters. "We got a lot of nasty looks from the police but little other reaction," said Dave Ribar of Sterling Park, who claimed he was "Irish on my mother's side." "We figured that with all that's going on now in Ireland, this is the least we could do." Ribar said the idea to protest the prince's visit was a "spur of the moment thing and not too well planned." Later in the day the trio showed up with several other classmates across the street from Phi Beta Kappa Hall, where the prince received his William and Mary fellowship! They had new, smaller computer paper signs proclaiming "Bobby Sands Lives?" "Ireland for the Irish and "Get out of Ireland." The small group chanted protest slogans as the prince arrived and left the hall, but were drowned out by the applause and cheers of the other spectators. If the prince heard them or read their signs, he paid them no mind.

Stoff Photo Bv Thorn Sloter A last wave, and the prince is in the helicopter for the trip back to Washington Prince Seeks To Uphold Popularity Of Monarchy larize archaeology by being host of a television series about it. After college, he served six years in the military, and is now wing commander in the Royal Air Force and a commander in the Royal Navy. He describes polo as "my one extravagance," but is said to have taken up another horse sport, steeplechasing, to appeal to the average Briton. It has produced a different form of popularity than Charles probably hoped for, however. Charles has become famous recently for falling off his horse during steeplechases.

His sister and brothers have not been quite as popular with the public. Anne, 30, has been described as petulant. His younger brothers, Andrew, 21, and Edward, 17, only now are moving into the public eye. His grandmother, however. Queen Mother Elizabeth, 80, ranks high in British popularity polls.

She is godmother to Sarah Spencer, Lady Diana's older sister whom Charles at one time dated. Charles has known Sarah and Diana since childhood and the marriage is expected to be the most popular event in England since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth when she was 25 in 1952. Diana, 19, an attractive blue-eyed blonde, will be the first English-born woman to become wife to the heir of the throne since 1659. She has been described as a bit "square," which fits in with Charles' image. Underlying Charles' popularity is a strong belief in tradition and values.

By DAVID GADDIS SMITH Staff Reporter WILLIAMSBURG Among the top-rated stories of 1948 were the election of Harry F. Truman as president and the death of baseball great Babe Ruth. Ranked 10th most important was the story of Prince Charles' birth on Nov. 14. Prince Charles, now 32, started life popular and intends to keep it that way.

"The monarchy rests on popularity. Once you aren't popular, there's no point in staying around," Charles has said. Recently, he was ranked second in popularity in Great Britain only to his mother. Queen Elizabeth II. The story of Charles' Saturday visit here probably won't rank as one of the top 10 stories for this year, but the story of his July 29 marriage in St.

Paul's Cathedral to Lady Diana Spencer might. That story finally will put one source of his popularity, that of being the world's most eligible bachelor, to rest. But it should bring more into focus another, that he is heir to the British throne. Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Chester, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isle and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland may become King Charles III. Or, since the last two King Charleses have not been too popular (one had his head cut off and the other had one extramarital affair after another), he may choose Philip Arthur George VII, or an entirely different name.

The prince, however, does seem to have restored credibility to his name. Although the way Charles' life has been guided and lived perhaps was not designed to ensure the popularity of the crown, it certainly seems to have been the case. His father. Prince Philip, insisted Charles be educated in the outside world and not by royal tutors as other English princes had been. This move made the crown appear more democratic and popular.

Some, however, felt the move was not democratic enough, since Charles did not attend public school but rather went to schools attended by upper-class boys. Nevertheless, the elite schools gave him a larger window on the world than he would have had otherwise, and one of them subjected him to a spartan existence of sorts. At Gordonstoun, Charles and his classmates all had to begin their days, rain or shine, by running shirtless and then taking cold showers. The school was designed by founder Kurt Hahn to be a place where "the sons of the privileged can be emancipated from the prison of privilege." Charles did have the privilege of being the first member of the royal family to earn a college degree. Charles was an average student at Trinity College at Cambridge, where he majored in archaeology.

Later, he helped popu Of the tradition of pomp and ceremony he has said, "I would change nothing. Besides ceremony being a major and important aspect of monarchy, something that has grown and developed over a thousand years in Britain, I happen to enjoy it enormously." In fact, some of his girlfriends called him "Sir." When not in one of his more than 20 uniforms, the trim 5-foot-l 1-inch prince usually will wear conservative clothing. On values, he said, "The real problem, I find, is having the courage of your convictions when others about you are losing theirs." Then, it may be easy to have the courage of one's convictions and be popular when one takes in $500,000 of tax-free income a year by virtue of being heir to the throne. Charles receives the income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which has supported 21 Princes of Wales since 1322. As king, Charles would receive much more income.

The amount the crown makes has been a sore point with many Britons, and Charles made a popular move when, at age 21, he decided to give half the income from the Duchy to the government. It was stated, however, when he made that decision that the arrangement was to be reviewed upon his marriage. After all, $500,000 may not be enough to pay for maintaining a country home and one in London too. Up until now, Charles has been living in an apartment in Buckingham Palace. It could be 30 years before he goes back there to live as king.

Some public opinion polls indicate he is so popular that the queen should think about abdicating, but abdication is not part of the tradition of the British monarchy. The only ruler to abdicate was Edward VIII, who gave up his throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. They lived out the rest of their lives as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Power, or the appearance of it, was not for Edward. Britain's unwritten constitution places great limitations on the power of the monarchy, which is widely perceived as a stabilizing, ritualizing force in British society.

The monarch, however, especially a well-informed and popular one, is able to exercise some degree of political power. Charles has access to the red "boxes," leather cases of official state papers only he, his mother, and top Parliament officials get to see. The prime minister visits with Queen Elizabeth weekly. In 1979 the Prince of Wales became the first member of the royal family to attend a Parliament cabinet meeting since World War II. He also has been meeting regularly with heads of state.

The motto of the Prince of Wales for centuries has been "Ich Dien," or "I serve." At age 25, Charles said, "I don't want to be a figurehead. I want to get things done." He writes his own speeches. He helps get things done, for instance, helping raise $30.5 million to assist community programs for youth who get in trouble with the law. He also felt it was his duty to apply his motto to the area of the United Kingdom he is titular head of, Wales. Before his investiture as Prince of Wales in Caernavon Castle on July 1, 1969, Charles went to the trouble of taking a cram course in Welsh in order to aid his popularity and better serve there.

Since the end of the 13th century, Wales has been part of Great Britain and the first-born of the English monarch has been the Prince of Wales. Welsh nationalism, however, persists, and with Charles' popularity comes unpopularity. There were 13 bombing incidents during the time leading up to his investiture. Because of the danger of assassination, security precautions for Charles visit at the College of William and Mary were considered tighter than when President Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter debated in Phi Beta Kappa Hall here in 1976. Assassination struck one member of the royal family in the recent past when Charles' uncle.

Earl Mountbatten, was blown up in an Irish terrorist attack. It was Mountbatten who has been quoted as saying Charles, because of his character and popularity, is well-fitted to become the next king of Great Britain. "It's a miracle," he said. Charles Great-Grandmother Lived In Gloucester ried John Smith of Purton Hall, another large Virginia estate. It is from here that the family traces its heritage to the Bowes-Lyon family of Scotland directly to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.

John and Mary Smith were the last of Prince Charles' ancestors to live in Virginia. The Smith's children returned to Great Britain to live. Warner Hall, known for its ties to Virginia history and English royalty, was used as headquarters by Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion after he burned Jamestown in 1676. While the house itself is privately owned and occupied, the graveyard out back has been owned and maintained by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities since 1903. tween 1660 and 1675.

Augustine Warner I was a colonel of the militia, a justice and then a burgess in the General Assembly. As was the tradition of the day, he sent his children back to England to study. His son, Col. Augustine Warner II, attended Merchant Taylor's School in' London, returned to Virginia when he was in his 20s, and married Mildred Reade, daughter of a nearby Tidewater plantation owner. Col.

Augustine Warner II died at an early age leaving a widow, three daughters and no male heir. One daughter, also named Mildred, married Lawrence Washington and eventually became George Washington's grandmother. His youngest daughter, Mary, mar IllSllil :.) Pi J- By SUSAN BRUNO Staff Reporter GLOUCESTER Prince Charles' great-grandmother generations removed was a Virginia resident and lived near here at Warner Hall estate on the Severn River. Although the original house in which the prince's ancestor, Mary Warner, lived burned in the mid-19th century, her grave is still marked in the tiny, well-kept graveyard behind the present Warner Hall built on the site of the original. A side trip here wasn't part of the prince's brief itinerary in Tidewater.

But it's interesting to note that the same lineage that links Prince Charles to this country also claims among its descendants Gen. Robert E. Lee and, ironically, the first president of the United States, George Washington. Prince Charles' genealogical connection to this country is traced through his mother. Queen Elizabeth II.

It all began in 1650 when Col. Augustine Warner I migrated to Virginia from England with his British wife, Mary Warner, and their two British-born children, Col. Augustine Warner II and Sarah Warner. The elder colonel, who used an English coat of arms and was known as a wealthy gentleman, built Warner Hall. Although it is not known exactly when the original Warner Hall was built, outbuildings standing on the estate are believed to date back to be i 1 Warner Hall plantation house, home of Mr.

and Mrs. Boiling R. Powell Jr. The Warner Hall graveyard in Gloucester County..