Revealed: Row with the Queen that led Charles to demand she get rid of her favourite courtier

Kensington Palace was reminiscent of the media war between Charles and Diana during the Nineties.

Clearly, Geidt’s appeal for selfdiscipline — just weeks earlier — had been flouted by the public soul- searching of William and Harry. But the damage was done: opinion polls showed that Charles’s popularity had plunged yet again.

At most, only a third of Britons welcomed the prospect of his succession, and at least half the population preferred William as the next king. Only 14 per cent supported Camilla becoming queen.

However unjustly, Charles’s legitimacy was vulnerable to a single crisis. He and Camilla were distraught.

It was what he did next that was revealing. As heir to the throne, Charles should have automatically consulted seasoned advisers, who would have persuaded him to curb his instinctive impulses. But he did nothing of the kind.

Instead of bowing to the Queen’s wishes, he decided to re-emphasise his own interests, which was exactly what Buckingham Palace opposed. He also insisted on taking over more of his mother’s public duties.

The chief obstacle, he assumed, would be Geidt — so he went to the Queen to demand her private secretary’s resignation.

Very reluctantly, the Queen agreed, and Geidt announced his retirement on July 31, 2017. Although he was contractually expected to remain in place until October, he immediately headed for his farm in the Outer Hebrides.

To show her personal gratitude for his decade of service, the Queen made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, her highest honour.

Geidt’s demise, many felt, boded ill for the future. It suggested that, as king, Charles would tolerate only sycophants in his court.

Few at Buckingham Palace believed that he’d be able to resist continuing to promote his opinions about architecture, the environment, alternative medicine, education and other matters.

Indeed, many felt that there were grounds to fear that King Charles, an elderly monarch in a hurry, would spark a constitutional crisis. THEN

there was his relentless fundraising, which would compromise his status as king — especially if he continued to entertain superrich donors. And his personal extravagance would not sit well with his new role.

Buckingham Palace’s autumn 2017 accounts alone showed that the plane used by Charles for a tour around Europe had cost taxpayers a whopping £154,000.

And his summer break with Camilla, sailing around the Greek islands on a yacht as guests of shipping magnate Theodore Angelopoulos, confirmed that he was unlikely to yield to any critic.

After the death of his parents, courtiers feared, there would be no one around to restrain his selfindulgence. Public approval of the Queen’s frugality would soon be replaced by disdain for her successor’s extravagance.

But Charles seemed impervious to any criticism. Instead, he was planning what he’d do during the six months between his mother’s death and his own coronation.

Sensitive to any public resistance, he agreed with Downing Street that he would ‘hit the ground running’ when he became king. It would be like a political campaign: he’d first address the nation and then barnstorm through the country, with appearances in London followed by flights to Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.

His own spiritual and moral values would unite the nation, he believed.

At least there’d be no further opposition from Buckingham Palace. On his return to London after the tour, he planned that his own staff from Clarence House would have quietly replaced the Queen’s officials.

REBEL Prince: The Power, Passion And Defiance Of Prince Charles, by Tom Bower, is published this week by William Collins, at £20. © Tom Bower 2018. To order a copy for £14 (30 per cent discount), visit mailshop.co.uk/ books or call 0844 571 0640. P&P free on orders over £15. Offer valid to March 31, 2018. Plus, get an additional 5 per cent off this title when you redeem through MyMail.co.uk.