Prince Charles hints at remarrying

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles share their first public kiss

LONDON, England -- The Prince of Wales answered a question about whether he planned to marry Camilla Parker Bowles by saying, "You can't be certain about anything."

The Prince, who has never addressed the issue before, declined to say whether they would one day be man and wife.

In a rare interview, given to the UK tabloid Daily Mail on Saturday to mark the 25th anniversary of The Prince's Trust, Prince Charles was asked whether he planned to remarry.

He said: "Will I be alive tomorrow? Who knows what the Good Lord has planned. You can't be certain about anything. I don't know.

"I just think it's important, particularly as I get older, to think about the journey that's coming next."

A spokesman for Charles said the interview did not amount to a statement about the future plans of the pair.

"I don't think the situation has changed at all," the spokesman told Reuters.

"It's a statement saying 'I'm not going to answer that question,' who knows what the future may bring."

Previously, St James's Palace has said there is "no intention" for the Prince to marry Parker Bowles.

Although he did not mention Parker Bowles by name, it was being seen by royal watchers as the boldest declaration yet about her since the death of his former wife Diana, Princess of Wales.

The couple have been taking increasing steps towards public acceptance.

The interview comes just days after their first "public" kiss when the Prince pecked the divorcee on the cheek as he arrived as her guest at a party in aid of the National Osteoporosis Society, of which she is patron.

Bookmakers have since cut the odds of the couple marrying within two years.

The odds, which once stood at 33/1, have now been slashed to just 2/1, bookmakers William Hill said on Saturday.

"Following the public kiss, the latest statement which failed to rule out the possibility of marriage, it is a hot tip that it will happen. The only question now is will it be sooner or later," William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe told the Press Association.

During the in-depth interview with the Daily Mail's Mary Riddell, Prince Charles also spoke of Diana, Princess of Wales, saying he hopes she can "rest in peace."

Making an appeal for their sons, princes William and Harry, to be left alone, he said: "The truth is that the children mind about the way in which she is dealt with.

"It must be quite difficult for them, I think. I wish people could just let her soul rest in peace without all these constant reminders."

On the subject of the two teenagers, he added: "They are terrific, and I am very lucky to have them."