HOW MANDY LEFT CHARLES PLAGUED WITH SELF-DOUBT
HE MAY have been known as ‘The Prince of Darkness’, but Camilla was charmed by Labour spin- doctor Peter Mandelson when she was introduced to him at a dinner party.
Not long after the 1997 General Election, he was duly invited to lunch at Highgrove to meet the Prince of Wales.
Camilla was in high spirits. Recalling election night, she informed Mandelson that she’d worn a red dress to a dinner with friends, telling them: ‘I’m dressing for the future.’
Then Charles weighed in with his prime concern: what did Labour ministers think of him, he asked.
Mandelson reassured him that they saw the Prince of Wales as hard-working and civilised, with a deep social conscience.
However, he added, ‘some people have gained the impression you feel sorry for yourself, that you’re rather glum and dispirited. This has a dampening effect on how you are regarded.’
Charles looked stunned. After Mandelson had left, he turned to Camilla and asked her beseechingly: ‘Is that true? Is that true?’
‘I don’t think any of us can cope with you asking that question over and over again for the next month,’ she replied.
‘Well, then,’ said Charles, ‘how about for just the next 20 minutes?’