Prince Charles In Snit With Press

Prince Charles had little to say about his forthcoming wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles as he started his annual skiing vacation Thursday, but expressed annoyance with press coverage of the family trip.

A week before the royal wedding, it was a chance for the boys to offer their father support for his big day, an innocent little photo opportunity in the mountains, reports CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips on The Early Show. But, Phillips says, it didn't go well.

Instead, Charles seemed somehow petulant and ill-tempered when asked how he was feeling eight days before the wedding.

At the start of his weeklong stay in an Alpine resort with sons William and Harry, Charles, the heir to the British throne, told reporters he was "very glad" they had heard of his April 8 wedding.

But he seemed unhappy at dealing with the media, referring to them under his breath as "bloody people" as he posed for photos. The comments were picked up by microphones, Phillips notes.

Elder son William,vacationing with his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, said it was unlikely there would be a second royal wedding soon.

"I'm just gagging to be on the slopes — simple as that," William said, adding that he is "very happy, very pleased" about his father's wedding.

Phillips speculated Charles' mood may have stemmed from photos galore in British newspapers Thursday of William and Middleton.

Whatever, says Phillips, "It's completely in-character for Prince Charles."

Former royal Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter tells Phillips, "I think it's been a sort-of love-hate relationship. The press loves him and he hates them."

The family traditionally has one session for photographers during the spring vacation, in return for the media leaving them alone while skiing.

"He wasn't looking forward to it," Charles's spokesman Paddy Harverson said of the session. "We have an agreement with the media where they give them space during the holiday but a few paparazzi yesterday got the holiday off to a bad start."

"I think the prince was a little bit upset about that," Harverson added. "He doesn't have contempt for the media."

Harry said they had already had a stag night for their father.

"You've missed it," William added. "It was good fun."