Why young Prince Charles once asked: Shall I go gay?
A YOUNG Prince Charles was so unimpressed by potential brides from across Europe he once joked: “Shall I go gay?”, a TV documentary reveals.
Presenter Jeremy Paxman lifted the lid on the turbulent love lives of the Queen’s four children, Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, in the Channel 5 show.
Paxman On The Queen’s Children airs on Tuesday and sees the University Challenge host interviewing royal friends and insiders.
The former Newsnight presenter talks to Broderick Munro-Wilson, a friend of Charles who claims that neither Anne nor the heir to the throne were “shrinking violets”.
The two discuss a newspaper story of the time about “potential brides” in Europe for Charles, all of whom the heir reportedly showed little interest in.
Mr Munro-Wilson said: “I thought the only possibility was Caroline of Monaco.” He also revealed that Prince Charles joked: “Shall I go gay?”
He added: “We all roared with laughter and moved on.”
He later says: “They [Anne and Charles] had a jolly good time. They had a lot of fun.”
Paxman probes: “Anne too?” Mr Munro-Wilson replies: “She wasn’t a stuffy old thing. I wouldn’t want anyone to think they were shrinking violets. Either of them.” Prince Andrew doesn’t escape attention either. Paxman reveals a littleknown recording by a 14-year-old Coleen Nolan, of girl pop group The Nolans, in which she declares her love for Andrew.
She serenades the Prince with the words: “Andy, I love you.”
Prince Edward may also cringe at the sight of another re-run of his much-maligned It’s A Royal Knockout TV show. The one-off charity extravaganza saw members of the Royal Family compete alongside celebrities from the worlds of sport, music and TV in a series of wacky challenges and events.
Toyah Willcox, who took part, reveals that the press took against the show because Edward forced them to stay inside a tent to report on the antics outside.
Paxman On The Queen’s Children, Channel 5, Tuesday, 9pm.