Approaching his 50th birthday this Saturday, the Prince of Wales may well reflect that the past year has been rather good for him as he slowly emerged from the spectacular failure of his marriage and the tragedy of the death of the Princess of Wales.
Portrayed both as an uncaring husband who married Diana to ensure the continuity of the British monarchy and as a man passionately committed to issues such as disadvantaged youth, unemployment and organic farming, Prince Charles is still viewed by the public and press as a deeply divided figure.
The moment when public, and to some degree, press opinion began to swing in his favour was when the prince decided to fly to Paris to bring Diana's body home to England. The years of bitter squabbling and in-fighting between the couple and their private offices were over - it had subsided in the years since their divorce in 1996 - and thankfully, some observers said, Prince Charles did the right thing by his former wife and in death she was afforded the dignity she deserved.
At another level, there have been some who simply cannot forgive Prince Charles for the revelations in Andrew Morton's book, Diana: Her True Story, and there is no doubt that he was hugely embarrassed by the "Camillagate" tapes. But that was a long time ago and, among his circle of friends at least, it is hoped that the public will warm to him in his role as a single parent preparing his sons, Prince William, in particular, for their dynastic duty.
To a large extent the public rehabilitation of Prince Charles has been successful, despite Penny Junor's book and the row caused by the LWT documentary which declared that he would be "secretly pleased" if Queen Elizabeth abdicated, allowing him to become King Charles III. That particular example of press speculation, as his supporters described it, prompted an unusual joint statement in which St James's Palace and Buckingham Palace categorically denied the story.
Even so, the documentary has resurrected the debate over Prince Charles's role as monarch-in-waiting and once again, that of his long-time partner, Ms Camilla Parker Bowles. Some royal observers feel that, given the extraordinarily robust constitution of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles has still to reconcile himself to the fact that he may not become king for another 25 years. The little comment he has made in public on the issue would suggest that he has no such concerns and for a man who has lived his whole life steeped in tradition that opinion does not seem at odds with his character thus far revealed. It is true that most men would have expected to have reached the pinnacle of their careers at the age of 50, but Prince Charles was born to his role and he more than anyone else knows there is no escaping his destiny.
We have all seen that the monarchy has become more media-friendly since Diana's death. Queen Elizabeth has visited McDonald's and Prince Charles has met the SNP leader, Mr Alec Salmond. And although some traditionalists have balked at the "chill wind" of modernisation, Buckingham Palace has been keen to point out that "lessons have been learnt".
Like it or not, the grey area in Prince Charles's life remains that surrounding Ms Parker Bowles. She and the prince recently attended a society wedding in London and the careful timing of their separate entrances and exits from the synagogue paid more than perfunctory tribute to the public's continuing uncertainty about their relationship. The prince has made it clear that Ms Parker Bowles is a non-negotiable part of his life and is reportedly unhappy at pressure to define their relationship.
Some sections of the Church of England are deeply unhappy about the relationship and have signalled that they will oppose Ms Parker Bowles's presence in his life should he become king. Would she step into the role of king's consort? Would there be a move to condition the public into accepting a Queen Camilla? For his part the prince has indicated that he has no wish to remarry and Queen Elizabeth is reported to have said she believes the public would never accept the idea.
For now she may be right. The results of an opinion poll published earlier this week suggest that eight out of 10 people in Britain are against the idea of Ms Parker Bowles becoming queen, although there were some encouraging results for the prince - 45 per cent said they should get married and 53 per cent were in favour of him becoming king with Camilla as his wife.
Much has been written about Prince Charles's future role as he approaches his half-century. But one suspects that in the end he will conduct himself in the coming years much as he has done in the past, with a strong belief in tradition and an increasing acceptance that if it treads carefully, the monarchy can embrace the modern era without fear.