Prince Charming calmed hostile crowd who confronted him during Scotland visit

IT WAS not quite the encounter with the public that had been anticipated when the heir to the throne travelled to Scotland to commiserate with a floodhit community almost 30 years ago.

As the royal party pulled up outside a church hall in a deprived Paisley neighbourhood, it was greeted by a group of “angry and hostile” young men.

Without hesitating, the Prince of Wales crossed the road to speak to them, much to the “alarm” of the protection officers accompanying him.

However, they need not have worried because within minutes the Prince was laughing and joking with the locals.

The incident was proof of what those present said was the King’s instinctive ability to engage.

Sir Stephen Lamport, former private secretary to the Prince of Wales, said: “His ability to talk to them as human beings who mattered, who had something to offer society, was – is – extraordinary.” Sir Stephen recalled the royal visit to Paisley, which followed the floods of December 1994, during a series of podcasts about the King hosted by Simon Heffer, which begin today.

He told Mr Heffer: “There was some bad flooding south west of Glasgow and places like Paisley and we went up to visit those areas and basically commiserate with people about what had happened to them.

“We were going to a church hall where they would assemble a lot of goods to distribute to people in need whose houses had been flooded.”

Many families had spent months in temporary accommodation so the visit did not get off to a good start.

“On the other side of the road, opposite the car, was a group of about eight young chaps, probably in their late teens, early 20s, who looked angry and cross and hostile,” Sir Stephen said.

“We got out of the car and, to my alarm, the Prince of Wales, as he then was, saw these chaps at the road and, instead of going as he would normally expect to do, just to go to the chain gang [Lord Mayor and civic dignitaries] and do the stuff he was urged to do, he went straight over to these chaps on the corner to talk to them.”

Sir Stephen went on: “His policeman and I [were] rather alarmed at this.

But it was extraordinary because within two or three minutes these chaps who were angry and upset and hostile [were] laughing with him, joking with him.”

‘His ability to talk to them as human beings who had something to offer society was extraordinary’

The former private secretary, who served the Prince of Wales between 1993 and 2002, said the encounter was typical of the King’s ability to talk naturally to anyone.

He said: “That’s … a great virtue of his. And it’s not contrived. It’s part of what he is, part of his inner nature.”

Sir Stephen added: “He’s somebody who does actually understand the nature of what Britain’s society is about.”

Sir Stephen said that, in keeping with his concerns, the King is likely to pose tough questions to ministers to find out how their policies will impact people.

He said: “In private, there will be some pretty robust conversations and some pretty robust questioning on his part about policies, because he will have views ... and he will want to question and to test ministers and the Prime Minister.”

Sir Nicholas Soames, a former Armed Forces minister, also said the King will express his opinions forcefully – and that ministers should pay attention.

“I am in no doubt that he would make his views very strongly known if they needed to be,” said Sir Nicholas.

“I think it would be foolish to ignore someone who’s got a very great deal of experience.” Being the King, with Simon Heffer, a podcast on the role, function and character of the King, can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other streaming services.