London tuition fee protest

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In central London thousands of students and others gathered to protest as Britain's Parliament met to vote on a proposal to raise university tuition fees significantly - nearly tripling them - as part of a continuing set of austerity programs. During the protest, several clashes took place between police and protesters, resulting in numerous injuries and 43 arrests. Late in the demonstration, a group of protesters attacked the car of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as the couple were inside, being driven to the London Palladium. The car was slightly damaged, the royal couple unharmed, though a bit shaken by the incident. Parliament did end up narrowly approving the measure, and the fee increases are set to take effect in 2012.

British students protest in central London against government plans to triple tuition fees, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

A student protester stands on a barrier in Parliament Square on December 9, 2010 in London, England. Parliament was voting on whether to implement the coalition Government's proposals to increase university tuition fees in England from 3,290 GBP to 9,000 GBP. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Placards are pictured outside the University of London, on 9 December 2010, as thousands of students prepare to take part in protests against government proposals to let universities triple tuition fees. (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

A police officer puts on his body armor before a large student protest outside Parliament on December 9, 2010 in London, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Police restrain a protester in London, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A protester stands beside a statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square in London, on December 9, 2010. (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

A student protester looks over Parliament Square on December 9, 2010 in London, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Mounted police drive their horses into protesters during student demonstrations in London, on December 9, 2010. (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

A police officer is helped by a medic during a protest in Westminster in central London December 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

A protester tries to take a police officer's truncheon during a protest outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, central London on December 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Andrew Winning)

A police officer detains a youth during a protest against an increase in tuition fees on the edge of Parliament Square in London on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo) 

Police officers and student protesters clash during protests on December 9, 2010 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Mounted police ride during a protest in Westminster in central London December 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

Police officers clash with student protesters in Parliament Square on December 9, 2010 in London, England. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

An injured protester is led away by a police officer during a protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London on December 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Andrew Winning)

A demonstrator is carried away by medics during a protest in Westminster in central London December 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

Police officers in riot wear contain student protesters on Westminster Bridge on December 9, 2010 in London, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Demonstrators jump off burning park benches during a protest outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, central London December 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Andrew Winning)

A protester wears a gas mask as a vandalized portakabin is set on fire during student demonstrations in Parliament Square, in London, on December 9, 2010. (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

A fire burns in Parliament Square, Westminster, London, as students demonstrate against planned tuition fee increases on Thursday Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Gareth Fuller/PA)

Barriers are stacked in a pile in front of the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square after a protest, in Westminster in central London December 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

A student protester stands in front of a fire in Parliament Square on December 9, 2010 in London, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

British police arrest a youth during scuffles during a protest by students against government plans to triple tuition fees, in central London, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall react as their car is attacked, in London, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. Angry protesters in London attacked the car containing Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. An Associated Press photographer saw demonstrators kick the car in Regent Street, in the heart of London's shopping district. The car then sped off. Charles' office, Clarence House, confirmed that "their royal highnesses' car was attacked by protesters on the way to their engagement at the London Palladium this evening, but their royal highnesses are unharmed." (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

A broken window and splattered paint are pictured on a car used to transport Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall to the London Palladium in London, on December 9, 2010, after it was attacked by protesters during a student demonstration. (TERRY STEPHENS/AFP/Getty Images) 

The Big Ben clock tower is seen through the broken window of a damaged telephone box the morning after a protest in Westminster, in central London December 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)