CHARLES TRIES TO SHIELD CAMILLA AFTER SON ADMITS USING COCAINE

It starts at the kind of fashionable London parties and nightclubs feted in
the society columns. One of the party-goers wants some Ecstasy to ensure the
party never stops and knows just where to buy it if they're careful.

In another part of the club someone else, maybe part of the media scene or
in PR, is trying to keep up with his clients who are sipping on champagne.
Desperate to impress and remain coherent, they opt for cocaine.

The bigger the risk, the bigger the thrill. And if you have the money to pay
for the drug - a small amount isn't that expensive these days - there is
little to stop you.

As a junior film publicist and "fixer" trying to make his name in the media
industry, Tom Parker Bowles, son of Camilla and godson of Prince Charles,
knows, better than most this week, that the higher the tabloid stakes the
greater the fall when it comes to illegal drugs.

He is the latest victim of the tabloid "celebrity sting" - send a pretty
woman journalist to follow the target and attempt to ensnare them into
selling or buying drugs. But the most embarrassing aspect of this tale, as
Parker Bowles continues to fix the party for his employers at the Cannes
Film Festival, was the "roasting" he received in a telephone call from
Prince Charles. From what was reported of the conversation, the prince was
"fairly cross" and told young Tom that he had been a "bloody fool" for
taking cocaine, after he admitted it to
the reporter from the News of the World. No doubt, observers waged, the
dressing down was part of Prince Charles's attempt to save his long-time
companion, Parker Bowles's mother, Camilla, from further embarrassment, and
he dished out a good telling-off to his godson as any like-minded parent
would do.

Behind the cocaine story was a calculated attempt to discredit Tom Parker
Bowles's character. By calling into question the reliability of his
relationship with Prince William in particular, who has accompanied him to
celebrity parties in London during his school holidays, there was an attempt
in some media quarters to portray
Parker Bowles as a modern Falstaff to a youthful Henry V played by Prince
William.

One theory for the tabloids' thirst for the cocaine story put forward this
week is that they have tired of the infidelity story or the
breakdown-of-a-celebrity-marriage story. Those are the least surprising
events covered by the tabloids these days - witness the mercifully few
column inches (so far) given over to the alleged problems in the Scary Spice
marriage. The breakdown of marriage is wearily familiar to readers in the
1990s. With half of all couples ending up in the divorce courts the ability
of these stories to shock has diminished if not completely evaporated.

The celebrity cocaine story is all too familiar. In recent months we have
seen the former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon leave the show after his
drug use was exposed by a friend who talked to the media. From Radio 2 DJs
involved with drugs to the Home Secretary's son, minor TV stars and comedians,

Tom Parker Bowles's splash in the tabloids follows a familiar pattern. That
he is Prince Charles's godson is the perfect angle for the story. Bacon was
condemned for shattering the image of the perfect Blue Peter role model for
children, and so Parker Bowles is cast as a dangerous rich boy who might
corrupt the future king.

The revelation that Parker Bowles had taken cocaine probably surprised few
people, since drugs and the media and party circuit have long been linked.
His employers certainly took the admission on the chin and quickly issued a
statement making clear that his job was safe, praising his "commitment and
professionalism". He was extremely lucky. Many employers would not have
appreciated the publicity, despite Parker Bowles's insistence that he is not
an addict.

Discussing the pitfalls of drugs with young people before they experiment
with them - 40 per cent of Britain's youth will do so - is a challenge for
every parent, and Prince Charles has addressed the issue. But some young
people aren't so lucky and carry their drug problem with them through to the
workplace.