Prince Charles seems like forgotten man at wedding

(CBS/AP) Prince Charles could be feeling a little lost these days.

Close to many people's retirement age, he's still waiting for the position he was groomed for: King of England. And he's preparing for the wedding that will make his eldest son Prince William and Kate Middleton the fresh new faces of the monarchy.

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That leaves Charles, who once cut a dashing figure himself, as something of a forgotten man - sandwiched between his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and William, who carries a hint of his late mother's glamour wherever he goes.

"He's in a very sticky position," Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said about Prince Charles and his ambition to become King. Queen Elizabeth II has been on throne since her coronation in 1953. "By next year his mother will have been on the throne for 60 years, she's the only monarch many of us have ever known. When she came in, she was very young with two small children and there was huge empathy for her, but Charles won't get that when he comes to the throne."

He added that the failure of Charles' marriage to Diana - and the role that his current wife, Camilla, played in that doomed union - has given the public too much information about the man who would be king.

"The mystique is well and truly gone, so he will come to the throne with all that baggage," Little said. "Charles has always been rather eclipsed, by Diana, and now by his older son, who is about to marry a beautiful bride. Charles just accepts that for the foreseeable future the spotlight will shine on William and Catherine, as we're going to have to start calling Kate."

The 62-year-old prince even seemed a bit out of sorts when William and Middleton happily announced their engagement in November, commenting that it was about time since the young couple had "played house long enough."

It is hard to remember the days when he was seen as a stylish young bachelor linked to some of the most beautiful women in Europe. He dated a series of young aristocratic women and fashion models before proposing to Diana Spencer - whose elder sister he had dated - in 1981. The British press dubbed him "Action Man" because of his zest for challenging, even dangerous, sporting pursuits. He was known for steeplechasing, polo, scuba diving, parachuting, piloting helicopters, skiing, sailing and wind-surfing back when that sport was new.

Now he is viewed by some people as slightly potty - a stooping man who talks to his plants and goes on about the virtues of organic food while relying on a retinue of loyal aides to handle life's more tedious tasks, like putting toothpaste on his toothbrush.

This view, reflected in polls that consistently show most Britons would prefer that William become the next king, does not take into account the serious work Charles has undertaken, said Noel Cox, a law professor and royal scholar at Aberystwyth University in Wales.

He said the heir to the throne has no defined constitutional function but that Charles has used the position to champion organic farming, traditional architecture and environmental causes.

Cox added that Charles, who has had a rocky relationship with the news media, may actually enjoy being out of the limelight while the media focus on William and his photogenic new wife.

Charles has been persuading the British public to accept his marriage to Camilla, who in the aftermath of Diana's 1997 car crash death was blamed by many for the royal breakup.

One of his tactics was to make it clear that she would not take the title of "Queen" when he takes the throne. But he seemed to backtrack slightly in late November, when he told an American news network that Camilla "could become queen" when he becomes king, a statement that made headlines throughout Britain.

But as his son's wedding approaches, Charles' primary function in the festivities will be to host a Buckingham Palace dinner and dance party for William and Middleton and many of the young couple's closest friends. He will be expected to provide the food and the wine and to make a heartfelt toast - and then make himself scarce so the kids can have a good time - just as many other fathers do at their children's wedding receptions.