Not the Whole Story: A Memoir by Angela Huth
King Edward VII (Bertie). Like Charles, he was the son of a long-lived matriarch who refused to share power, and he had to wait until he was 59 before becoming king.
Charles’s extravagance pales into insignificance besides Bertie’s. Charles toys with a perfectly boiled egg, eats no lunch and once apparently devoured a whole truffle himself in front of his guests who expected to share it. Bertie, nicknamed Tum Tum, wolfed down dinners of many courses, was never seen without a cigar, and was said to retire with a cold chicken beside his bed which was always bare in the morning.
Prince Charles’s visits to friends are heralded by the arrival of his staff with a truck containing furniture, his pictures, his loo seat and, on one occasion, his orthopaedic bed. Bertie was far more demanding. His hosts were expected to lay on a week of lavish entertainment, including at least one ball, and, if necessary, to build a ballroom and install a bathroom. Many of them bankrupted themselves by having him to stay.
Charles has thought long and hard about his role as Prince of Wales. He has championed causes such as classical architecture and global warming, and he has been spectacularly successful in his charities. Bertie did none of this. His role as Prince of Wales was to act as social sovereign, the leader of London society, and this exposed him to endless temptation. He had a string of mistresses, and he was forced to appear twice in court, once in a divorce case and once over the Tranby Croft gambling scandal. Charles’s fussy habits, such as requesting his valet to squeeze out his toothpaste, seem harmless eccentricities by comparison.
The media would have slaughtered Bertie today. Nicknamed King Edward the Caresser, he came to the throne amid very low expectations. But to the surprise of many he turned out to be a popular and successful modernising monarch. Thanks to people like Tom Bower, Charles’s accession may be met with low expectations as well. But if Bertie’s experience is anything to go on, this could turn out to be an advantage. Like Edward VII, King Charles III will surprise us all.