Why does everyone hate Prince Charles?
PRINCE Charles faces a PR crisis as the future king nobody wants, but royal watchers say there is a simple fix to his image problem.
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HE’S the future king nobody quite wants.
The world’s longest-waiting future monarch, Prince Charles, will likely be in his 70s when he assumes the throne (his 70th birthday is in November). On his arm will be the most divisive Queen in recent history, Camilla. In front of him, droves of dedicated monarchists and dogged republicans alike, united only in their contempt for one of the royal family’s least popular members.
Experts safely predict the change of monarchs — which, given the Queen is 92, feels pressing — will stir up a swell of anti-royal sentiment. After all, poll after poll has shown the British public would much prefer King William over King Charles; in a 2016 survey, then-toddler Prince George had more support than his grandfather.
The death of Princess Diana, his ex-wife, more than 20 years ago — and unrelenting coverage of the loveless marriage that saw them both venture outside of it — muddied public sentiment about Charles almost irreparably.
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Recent biographies on the Prince of Wales have done little to clean the water. Author Tom Bower wrote of a petulant and jealous man in his unauthorised biography Rebel Prince, while Sally Bedell Smith was careful to highlight Charles’ warmth in Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, although even she conceded he was, at times, “hopelessly thin-skinned … naive and resentful.”
Despite the PR crisis that has been brewing for Charles for decades, the Palace is flat-footed in remodelling the British people’s opinion of their future king.
It’s baffling to royal expert Marlene Koenig, who believes the way to make Charles more likeable is both simple and obvious — to show his most doting, affectionate side.
“We never see Prince Charles with his grandchildren,” Koenig, the author of Queen Victoria’s Descendants told news.com.au.
“I think the public would love that, to see grandpa. To see Charles in that way. They obviously take the [official] photos, and I’m sure Prince Louis got one too, but we don’t see them.”
Although he became a grandfather in 2013, not a single official photo shows Charles interacting with his grandchildren. It’s curious, given Bower’s rollicking biography spoke at length of how Charles has felt “isolated” from his grandchildren in favour of their maternal grandparents.
Koenig attended Highgrove House — the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s residence — earlier this year, and was comforted to hear that despite appearances, Charles has a strong connection with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
“We were told Charles does play with his grandchildren in the playhouse and they do come and visit,” Koenig said.
“That was kind of comforting, in a way, that he does get to see his grandchildren. We don’t see that — only every once in a while someone will spy pictures.”
The royal historian was also surprised to learn Charles had handmade swings for each of his grandchildren at their home — a fact that would humanise the future king to his detractors if it was shared by the Palace.
“I think he would want to release photos with his grandchildren, but his son William probably doesn’t, and at the end of the day they’re his kids,” Koenig said.
Rumours of a tense relationship between the father-and-son future monarchs aren’t necessarily far-fetched either, Koenig added.
“People do say Harry is closer to Charles than William,” Koenig said. “But at the end of the day he’s still their dad. It seems to be a privacy issue for William, who really does want to keep his children out of the public eye.”
Despite sentiment willing Charles to hand the crown to William, Koenig is an unreserved fan of the heir apparent. She believes the public’s dislike is mostly a reflection of the Palace’s sluggishness, not the man himself.
“I’m a huge Charles admirer. Him escorting Meghan down the aisle [at her wedding in May] was the classiest thing. He was there for her. Then look at how he took Doria’s arm with Camilla when he walked out of the church. That was all class.”
As for those who believe Charles will never be king at all, keep dreaming.
“Increasingly, Charles is having more of a role inside the Palace,” Koenig said.
“The Queen has shed a number of patronages, she has cut back on events. William and Charles do a lot more investitures.
“Charles will soon be king. That could happen tomorrow, for all we know.”
- Michelle Andrews is a freelance writer from Melbourne. Follow her on Instagram.
Originally published as Why does everyone hate Prince Charles?