King Charles III of England is notoriously grumpy, but few people know that this pampered prince actually hides an extremely fragile heart. According to the US media "Page Six" reported on November 2, royal biographer Christopher Anderson tells an anecdote about Charles' life in his upcoming book "The King: The Life of Charles III", and the king's irritability and vulnerability are vividly interpreted by him.
Christopher revealed that Charles has been extremely harsh on the staff around him since he was young, and he has even more requirements for former royal personal valet Michael Fawcett.
Every day, Fawcett helped Charles squeeze toothpaste onto a toothbrush with the words "Prince of Wales" on it, shaved his beard, dressed and tied his shoes.
Before Charles went to bed, the valet had to lay out Charles' pajamas and lay out the bed.
Even the gardeners at Highgrove Manor were required to meet Charles' exacting standards. It is reported that the gardener wakes up every day to see a list of "instructions and complaints" written by Charles in red ink. Prince Charles stood on the porch at the time, and whenever he was not satisfied with the work of the courtyard designers, he would call the shots through a green megaphone.
Ironically, a staff member at Highgrove Manor told Christopher, "Prince Charles said he was bullied when he was a child, so he had to bully us too." ”
The staff member added, "He is sometimes amiable and polite, but many times he is moody and caustic. As long as you do something wrong, he will not hesitate to scold you loudly. ”
Ken Stronach, another of Charles' former valets, agreed, saying that the prince even grabbed his throat during a tantrum at one point.
Charles was living in a friend's luxury villa in the south of France and was furious when he accidentally dropped one of his cufflinks into the bathroom sink.
Stronak recalled that in order to find the cufflinks, Charles ripped the sink off the wall and smashed it hard, but he still couldn't find it, so he took him out.
Charles turned and grabbed Stronak by the throat, and Stronak broke free and rushed out through the side door, then hid in a linen closet.
The attendant said he was terrified and squeezed in the cramped closet for 30 minutes until he heard Charles leave the bathroom.
Stronak also revealed that Charles once grabbed a heavy wooden boot butt and threw it at her when he was arguing with Princess Diana, almost hitting her on the head.
Charles's temper even spilled over into his social circle. Once, he was a guest at a friend's country house, in order to get some fresh air, but because he couldn't open the window, he picked up a chair and smashed the window until he was satisfied.
Stronaker commented in the book, "We must understand what the prince did, after all, he was used to getting everything he wanted." He just wanted some fresh air. ”
In addition, the book describes in detail Charles' demanding requirements for breakfast. Charles' breakfast tray is said to have "a cup and saucer on the right, a silver spoon pointing outward, at an angle of 5 o'clock", "butter must be made into three balls and frozen", "royal toast must be placed on a silver shelf and not on a plate", "and all kinds of jams, jellies and honey must be placed in a separate silver tray." ”
A vegetable salad and a half-boiled egg are a dinner must-have, and half-boiled eggs are very challenging for chefs, who usually prepare a few eggs that have been boiled for three minutes, and finally pick out one with the right softness and throw the rest away.
However, Charles, who was so mean to his subordinates, was extremely gentle with a teddy bear that accompanied him since he was a child, and even when he was in his 40s, he asked his personal valet Fawcett to take care of it to ensure that he knew where to put it at any time.
Whenever this precious doll needed to be mended, Charles would specially invite Mabel Anderson, a retired nanny, out.
Christopher writes that every time a teddy bear needed a repair, Charles would think it was his own child for major surgery, and that Mabel, one of his most trusted servants, was "the only one allowed to sew up his beloved teddy bear."
As for the reason why Charles is so moody, the answer may be found in Christopher's book. The royal expert believes that this is because Charles did not feel the warmth of family from an early age, and his childhood was very lonely and heartbreaking.
Charles Jr. reportedly only spends a short time a day with his parents, and even when he was hospitalized with a broken ankle, neither the Queen nor Prince Philip visited him. While attending Gordonston Secondary School, he was often beaten and bullied by older students, but no matter how much he begged the Queen and Prince Philip to take him out of the school, they just remained indifferent.
John Stoneborough, who used to be in the same school as Charles, explained that since Charles came, the school has stepped up its management of students, so some people have sprinkled their anger on him, they viciously attacked, punched, kicked, and even pulled his ears.
In addition, due to Charles' royal status, he also had a hard time making friends at school, and if anyone wanted to make friends with him, they would be teased. And all this, the teenage Charles endured.
Source: Pagesix, Bing