What Queen Elizabeth II Doesn’t Want You to Know About Prince Charles
Over the past several months, Prince Charles‘ name has been in the headlines but not for the reasons he or Queen Elizabeth II would like. The future king’s affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and alleged treatment of Princess Diana while they were married was chronicled in The Crown, leaving many viewers upset.
A few months later, the Prince of Wales’ son, Prince Harry, didn’t put Charles in the best light when said during his interview with Oprah Winfrey that his dad stopped taking his calls and cut him off. In addition to that, there are a couple of other things the queen would rather no one know (or remember) about the heir apparent and his past.
Prince Harry said Prince Charles stopped picking up his calls
In Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah, the pair spoke about their relationship with certain members of the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex told the media personality that Prince Charles stopped taking his calls and cut him off financially. As for where things stand with him and his father today, Harry said: “There’s a lot of hurt that happened. And I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.”
‘The Crown’ rehashed Charles’ affair and failed marriage to Diana
Before Harry and Meghan even sat down for an interview with Oprah, Prince Charles’ infidelity and marital issues with the late Princess Diana were spotlighted in Season 4 of The Crown.
While many fans are aware that the series is a historical drama, a portion of what was portrayed in the show was described by Diana herself in her Panorama interview and secret audio recordings to biographer Andrew Morton.
The Prince of Wales and his current wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall received so much backlash after the fourth season of The Crown was released that they turned off the comments on their social media accounts for some time.
Other things Queen Elizabeth prefers the public not know about Charles
Prince Charles’ affair and strained relationship with Harry aren’t the only things Queen Elizabeth II wished the public didn’t know about her successor.
For one, it’s been reported that Prince Charles likes to stir the pot on matters his mother never would. The New Yorker noted that “The stances he takes do not follow predictable political lines but seem perfectly calibrated to annoy everyone.” The Duke of Cornwall’s opinionated nature could be an issue when he becomes king since monarchs are supposed to remain neutral on highly-debated topics.
“He expresses his opinions to just about everybody and anyone that will listen,” The Crown creator Peter Morgan said (per Express). Morgan added that the establishment is not particularly fond of the fact that Charles is an independent thinker. “He’s more flamboyant, more idealistic, willing to think for himself but the system doesn’t particularly like that. They prefer the dutiful George VI or Elizabeth II.”
In addition, there have been a number of negative reports alleging that Charles is extremely demanding. He’s even been dubbed the “pampered prince” by his staffers. In the Amazon documentary Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm, former royal butler Paul Burrell claimed that the heir apparent is so meticulous about things and if one thing isn’t done perfectly Charles will “scold” his entire staff.
On preparing the prince’s morning baths, Burrell said: “His underwear is folded in a certain way and his bath towel has to be placed in a certain fashion. When it comes to bathing the bathplug has to be in a certain position, the water temperature has to be just tepid, and only half full. And if anyone gets anything wrong everybody is scolded.”
