Bishop predicts 7-year-itch for William-Kate

A bishop has been labelled a royal pain after ranting on Facebook about the upcoming wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, comparing them to "shallow celebrities" whose union is destined to fail.

"I give the marriage seven years," Pete Broadbent, the Bishop of Willesden for the past decade, wrote after the announcement of the prince's engagement.

The 58-year-old clergyman first aired his thoughts on Twitter by claiming he needed to book "a republican day trip to France" on the day of the wedding, which he described as "massively irrelevant (if an expensive frippery).
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He added on Facebook, "I think we need a party in Calais for all good republicans who can't stand the nauseating tosh that surrounds this event."

Christening the prince's upcoming nuptials as "national film-flam," he expressed his anger at tax payers being forced to pay for the event and at the media for "fawning deferential nonsense."

Experts told the News this week that the royal wedding could cost tens of millions after security and cleanup are considered.

But palace officials said the royal family is "mindful of the economic situation" and that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles plan to kick in some cash, including paying for the reception if it is held at Buckingham Palace.

Despite the Prince of Wales' attempt at do-gooding, Broadbent also took aim at his 1981 marriage to Princess Diana.

The bishop wrote that he had "managed to avoid the last disaster in slow motion between Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll, and hope to avoid this one too."

"The Windsors and their predecessors don't have a good track record on the permanence of marriage," he wrote Princess Diana and Prince Charles divorced in 1996 adding that the family line is filled with "corrupt and sexist philanderers."

Draws flak

MPs and Church members denounced the posts by Broadbent.

"They are extremely rude, not what one expects from a bishop," said Tory MP Nicholas Soames, a friend of Prince Charles.

Former MP Canon Peter Bruinvels added that it was "disappointing and disrespectful," reminding the Bishop that the Monarch "plays an integral role" in the Church.