Protestors attack Prince Charles, Camilla’s Rolls Royce

Protesters in London on Thursday attacked a car carrying Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, NDTV reported.

The couple was heading to a theater for a charity variety performance when their Rolls Royce crossed paths with a volatile gang of demonstrators.

Young, excited and angry, the protesters had broken off from a large student rally and were running through London's West End, intent on spreading mayhem among the throngs of pre-Christmas shoppers, the report said.

Adnan Nazir, a 23-year-old podiatrist who was following the protesters, was among the first to recognize the royal couple in their customized Rolls Royce with its extra-large windows.

The attackers, up to 20 of them, surrounded the limousine and pounded it with fists and bottles, smashing a window, and splashed the gleaming car with paint amid chants of "Off with their heads" and "Tory scum."

In the confusion, Nazir said, a window opened.

"Paint was being thrown at it, people were trying to get inside the vehicle at one point and the couple, I saw they looked absolutely terrified, it was absolutely shocking scenes," Nazir said.

After several chaotic minutes, the car managed to force its way through the crowd and drive off.

Charles' office, Clarence House, said the couple was unharmed, according to the report.

But Camilla, 63, looked shaken and Charles was sombre as the couple arrived at the London Palladium a few minutes after the attack.

Ever the professionals, they soon managed smiles as they met performers, including Kylie Minogue and the boy band Take That.

Protesters angry at a huge tuition fee hike clashed with police and smashed windows in London, after legislators in the House of Commons approved a plan to triple university fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) a year.

Thousands of students staged a peaceful protest but a minority turned violent, hurling sticks and rocks at riot police, smashing store windows and setting on fire a giant Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, according to the report.

英 왕세자 부부가 탄 차량 시위대 공격받아

차를 타고 이동 중이던 찰스 왕세자 부부가 9일(현지 시간) 런던 시내에서 시위를 벌이던 학생들로부터 공격받았다. 학생들은 이날 최고 3배까지 치솟은 대학 학비 인상안이 영국 하원을 통과하자 런던 시내에서 시위 중이었다.

런던발 AP통신에 따르면 시위대는 이날 오후 7시 무렵 쇼핑센터가 몰려있는 리전트 스트리트를 지나던 왕세자 부부가 탄 차량을 가로 막은 뒤 흰색 페인트를 던지고 발길질을 했다.

그러나 차량은 곧바로 현장을 빠져 나갔다고 목격자들이 전했다.

찰스 왕세자와 카밀라 파커 볼스 콘월 공작부인은 이날 밤 런던 팔라디움극장에서 열리는 자선공연에 참석하기 위해 이동 중이었다.

왕세자 부부는 봉변을 당한 뒤 예정대로 극장에 도착해 관람을 마친 것으로 전해졌다.

왕실은 발표를 통해 "찰스 왕세자와 카밀라 파커 볼스 콘월 공작 부인은 아무런 해를 입지 않았다"고 밝혔다고 이 보도는 전했다.

영국 하원은 이날 학비인상안을 표결에 부쳐 가결시켰다. 이번 인상안은 2012학년도부터 대학생이 내야 하는 학비를 현재의 1인당 3,290 파운드에서 최고 9,000 파운드(약 1,620만원)로 올리는 것을 골자로 하고 있다.