Book reveals a royal household rife with intrigue, misconduct and dishonesty
Easy to like and easy to dislike, he is a product of Britain’s genius, a rebel prince
HE IS an enigma and almost everyone has an opinion on Prince Charles. Reading the insightful new book, Rebel Prince, by Tom Bower, is likely to modify that view one way or another.
Undoubtedly, the triangle of love between Diana, Camilla and Charles has damaged his reputation, and the revelations by insiders in this book about Camilla’s bid to be queen will reignite the simmering storm about a romance and lifestyle which are accurately described for the first time. In unearthing many secrets surrounding that and other sagas, this book reveals a royal household rife with intrigue, misconduct and dishonesty.
In Rebel Prince, Bower probes into Charles’s battle for image rehabilitation. People of power and influence employed in or with access to the inner sanctum of the rival royal courts describe the unseen side of a patrician.
To those whose loyalty was abused, he is a self-righteous whinger. His fractious family relationships with his parents, brothers and sons give many monarchists cause for concern.
“Many books have been written about Charles, but none has fully described the crisis he faced after 1997. For nearly 10 years, he was buffeted by scandal. His approval rating fell to the lowest for any royal in recent times. His succession to the throne was endangered.
“Additionally, throughout those years he was repeatedly criticised by the media and politicians for his extravagances. His father denounced him for being a renta-royal, yet he continued to sell access to himself. During this period of turmoil, one issue dominated Charles’s life – the status of Camilla Parker-Bowles.
“Single-mindedly, he confronted all the establishment forces, including the Queen, who was determined to prevent their marriage.
“To my surprise, I found in Charles’s conduct a substantial number of victims, many of whom are saddened over how he acted, both in general and towards them.
“His loyalty, like his attention span, is limited. Embraced today, a favourite can be cast out tomorrow.”
Bower said Charles emerges as an exceptional character.
Easy to like and easy to dislike, he is the unique product of Britain’s genius – a rebel prince, eventually to become a rebel king.
I found Rebel Prince absolutely fascinating reading.
It reveals much about Charles ,and while his public image has undoubtedly improved, the off-camera man is less impressive.
Bower has not written a kind portrait of Charles. One hopes that the book’s focusing largely on the past 20 years has omitted much that could lead to a more favourable impression of Charles.
He does come across as insecure and lacking some self-confidence – waiting in the wings for as long as he has done can only play havoc with one’s self-belief.
There is precious little in this book that will leave the reader encouraged by the prospect of him as king, or should that eventuality occur, confident about the sort of king he would be.
After having read the book, my opinion of Charles is best described by these words from the king in the musical, King and I: “a puzzlement”.