Pal: King will be great, his heart is kind

FRIEND of the royals, socialite and writer Basia Briggs has always been confident King Charles would be a marvellous monarch.

She says: “Charles has done a wonderful job so far. Those first 12 days he barely had a break.

“He was working so hard and travelling all over. I was worried he was going to conk out.

“He is an emotional man, he does feel things deeply.

“Charles will be a magnificent king. He cares for everyone and genuinely wants to help the downtrodden. He has a kind heart.“

Talking about the leaky pen incident, at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland, she added: “People criticised his reaction, but, crikey, he was shattered.”

Mrs Briggs ran London’s Hyde Park Stables, known as “The Ivy of the Equestrian World”.

The 63-year-old, who lost husband Richard last year, recalled one of her favourite memories of the late Queen Elizabeth.

She said when Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited in the late 80s the monarch wanted her to see Hyde Park as it was 100 years ago, with lots of people riding horses along Rotten Row.

Mrs Briggs added: “We had to bring in people, all in their best clothes, to ride every horse we had.

“It looked wonderful. It was all decoration, but the Queen would have thought it was always like it.”