London - During his recent visit to Indonesia, Prince Charles watched a traditional dance about two rival women fighting over their royal lover.

The performance was based on the legend of princesses from Java and China who battled to the death over a Javanese King.

The two barefoot women dressed in ornate costumes circled each other slowly, moving with stylized hand gestures and leg placements as a traditional orchestra played.

The dance ends with the Javanese princess killing her rival.

Its symbolism might well have reminded the prince of his own torrid private life, with the late Princess Diana confessing in a TV interview two years before her death in 1997: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

It was, perhaps, just as well, that the woman she was referring to, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was not at the side of her husband for the occasion, having excused herself from the Indonesian leg of the couple's Asian tour because she "couldn't take the heat."

Three-and-half years after marrying the woman he described as a "non-negotiable" part of his life, Prince Charles - who turns 60 on Friday - is as happy as never before, his friends report.

"This relationship is definitely a good thing in his life. Her influence on him is hugely benign and gives him an intimacy that was sorely lacking before," said Emma Soames, the magazine editor and granddaughter of Winston Churchill.

Divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles, 61, who became Duchess of Cornwall on marrying Charles in April, 2005 has, it appears, been grudgingly accepted by a nation which only 10 years ago rejected her in the bitter backlash against the Paris car crash in which Diana died - just a year after her divorce from Charles.

However, a recent opinion poll showed that Britons, who called Diana their "queen of hearts," have still not warmed to the idea of calling Camilla their queen, preferring her instead to be known as the Princess Consort when, and if, Charles succeeds to the throne.

As the turmoil surrounding Charles' disastrous failures in his private life has died down, and his sons, William and Harry, have grown into young men, the heir to the throne has worked out where he stands, not only in his personal, but also in his professional life, friends insist.

"He (Charles) now accepts that his work as the Prince of Wales will have a longer legacy than his work as a future king," a source told the Sunday Telegraph recently.

Charles now believed that his 82-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II, displaying excellent health and formidable genes, would remain on the throne until he (Charles) was in his late 70s.

Charles, whose interests range from the study of Islam and Buddhism to the environment, spiritual philosophy, natural medicine, genetic engineering and architecture, was "far too busy" to worry about when he would be king and how he would fulfil the role, friends report.

However, critics say the landmark birthday could reinforce the brooding prince's mood of introspection as pressure grows to skip a generation when anointing the next British monarch.

Prince Charles has said he regards climate change as the "biggest challenge our planet has ever seen - literally a battle for survival," and echoed environmental campaigners by urging world leaders to tackle the "climate crunch" before the credit crunch.

"We take our eye off the 'climate crunch' at our peril," he said, warning that the effects of climate change will be irreversible. "Nothing less than an urgent, full-scale transformation to a low-carbon society is needed."

Prince Charles has already made clear that, when he becomes King Charles III, and thereby the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, he would attempt to break new ground by promoting the understanding of other religions.

"The Prince of Wales is a deeply spiritual man who is often engrossed in books on religion. He falls to his knees before bed each night in silent prayer," commentator Andrew Pierce observed in the Daily Telegraph.

Until he becomes king, Charles, often criticized for his lavish lifestyle, would continue with his varied charitable activities in which, according to friends, he has found a role that is both personally fulfilling and popular.

He would also continue to "speak his mind and meddle," pestering ministers and members of parliament with handwritten letters of complaint over their alleged shortcomings.

Soames, who knows Charles well, dismissed recurrent speculation that the crown should pass directly to 26-year-old Prince William, whose glamorous girlfriend Kate Middleton has conquered the heart of many Britons.

"I trust no-one is seriously countenancing the ridiculous idea of rewriting the constitution to pass over a man who has been preparing himself for this job all his life," said Soames.