LONDON -- Prince Charles, looking miserable in television close-up, told millions of Britons glued to their sets that friends like Camilla Parker Bowles kept him from going mad when his marriage broke down.


And yes, as expected, he seemed to acknowledge being unfaithful to Princess Diana after their marriage had "irretrievably broken down."


A 2 1/2-hour Central Television documentary broadcast Wednesday night inspired such headlines as "Camilla Stopped Me Going Bonkers" in The Star and "I'll Never Give Up Camilla" in The Sun.


The heir to the throne, seated in an armchair, looked uncomfortable, his expression sometimes pained, as he groped for answers to some of the most difficult questions.


He said a divorce "is very much in the future."


"At the moment it's not a consideration in my mind. And anyway it's something that I think is very personal and private between my wife and myself and that's how it'll remain," he said.


Asked if his relationship with Mrs. Parker Bowles wrecked his marriage, he did not deny that they might be more than friends.


"There is no truth in so much of this speculation, and Mrs. Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine and I have a large number of friends," he said.


"When marriages break down, so often it is your friends who are the most important and helpful and understanding, encouraging -- otherwise you would go stark raving mad."


Princess Diana was not one of the millions watching her husband on television. She was glittering and smiling at an art-gallery party, elegant in black chiffon, pearls and diamonds.


Charles and Diana, who married in 1981, formally separated at the end of 1992. "Diana: Her True Story," a book apparently written with her approval, quoted friends as saying that Charles' friendship with Mrs. Parker Bowles had been an issue throughout the marriage.


Asked by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby whether he tried to "be faithful and honorable to your wife," Charles, 45, said "Yes, absolutely."


"And you were?" Dimbleby asked.


"Yes. Until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried."


The marriage question was only a fraction of the documentary, which tried to convey something of the prince's job and his character.


It also gave Charles ample scope to complain about the press.


"Just look at the level of intrusion, persistent, endless carping, pontificating, criticizing, examining, inventing," the prince exclaimed.


Of the royal sensations in the tabloids, Charles said, "It's clearly much easier to invent all this and say it's come from some close friend or staff member and it's simply rubbish -- it's not true."


The program emphasized Charles' work to help disadvantaged young people through the Prince's Trust, his interest in architecture and organic farming, and his travels to promote British interests.


The film, more than a year in the making and coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales, was sympathetic. But the most personal questions, though politely handled, were clearly unpleasant for him.


Some thought he spoke too freely.


The Daily Telegraph said in an editorial that admitting adultery was in "dubious taste" and that "this passage alone opens the floodgates to a new torrent of tabloid mischief-making, and even seems to legitimize it."


But most commentators appreciated the occasional flashes of humor.


On an official engagement, while the prince was meeting people in the street, a small boy asked him, "Who are you?"


Prince Charles, without missing a beat, replied, "I wish I could remember," before walking off into the crowd.