So much royal attention falls on Prince William, Kate Middleton – even Prince Harry that Americans often seem to forget about Prince Charles. Sure he has always been around but he’s not exactly the kind of man that really commands attention or leaves a lasting impression either. At best Charles seems to be pegged as boring and at worst he is a nuisance with his nit-picking over small things and barrage of emails when a situation doesn’t sit well with him.
In the latest issue of Time Magazine writer Catherine Mayer sets out to paint a different portrait of the man whose birthright is to be the next king. It’s pretty obvious that the royals wanted to help change the public opinion of Charles as well because they allowed Mayer a ridiculous amount of access to him. She trailed him through daily life, hopscotched through three of his residences and then spoke to 50 of Charles’ closest confidants. That’s an awful lot of time and energy being put towards making Queen Elizabeth’s son seem more accessible and better understood.
In the article itself Charles refuses to focus much on his possible ascension to the throne because in order to do so it ultimately means that he’ll have lost his mother. He also claims to have learned that if you throw too many people and situations away you eventually realize that some of them really did have value after all. Perhaps that’s why Charles seems to be in no rush to get rid of his current wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles. His mistress of 30 years hasn’t exactly won over the monarchy even after they finally tied the knot. Unfortunately Camilla is better known for her drunken rages and entitlement issues rather than her class and she may ultimately be the Achilles Heel in Charles’ dreams of ultimately ruling England.
Do you think that this article is intended to make people like Charles a bit more? I have to think that he cringes at Mayer’s referring to him as the forgotten prince, don’t you? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Image Credit: Time
