To think prince Charles isn't that bad

[Julia2016]

The princes trust does good work. Yes he didn't treat Diana well but she also manipulated the media and they were an odd match from the start.

Take the other night, why did Charles not meet Obama? Or was this William picking a job he liked doing?? It looks to me like Charles is being sidelined, perhaps there are plans to bypass him in the line of succession. Or maybe the media are not bothered about him.

I kinda like him.. 😌

[CaptainCallisto]

Because if Charles dies before the queen, the crown would pass to Andrew as her next eldest son. The Suggestion has always been that if Charles were to become ill and likely to die, the queen would abdicate to ensure his place in the line of succession, so William would become king on his death.

[Shallowstreams]

How many of us would be still standing in the face of the public criticism and ridicule he's had to endure for most of his life?

He is so entitled and pampered I'm sure he's managed to 'get by'.....

[Sunshowercap]

I thought we were going to a 'watch Charles and Camilla drive by and wave' when they were in our area but no, their limo stopped right in front of us and we were the second people they spoke to

I remember being caught in an unexpected downpour one summer when Charles Windsor was visiting some place near where I was. I was held by police at a pedestrian crossing, in the driving rain, for about 10 minutes so that his car could go by. I was drenched, made late, and forced to look as though I was actually looking out for him.

Not impressed one little bit.

[Betrayedbutsurvived]

Not true captain, if Charles dies before the queen, William is her heir.

www.infoplease.com/askeds/british-royal-succession.html

[Ricardian]

I had it in my head that Charles couldn't be king because of the divorce?

Everything is fixable with primary legislation.

The problem wouldn't have been the divorce, the problem would have been one or both of his remarrying while his wife were alive (now obviously no longer a problem) and marrying a divorcee, which could be held to be a bar on his being head of the Church of England. But no-one takes these things serious, as not only is it not 1936, Charles isn't - even in the most extreme views - a shit of the order of David Windsor, who would have been removed from the throne even without the pretext of Wallis Simpson.

[HopeClearwater]

This succession discussion is very interesting.

However, can someone confirm the truth or otherwise of:

1. Charles has his toothpaste squeezed on the toothbrush ready for him
2. He insists on all his clothing being handwashed by minions (not the yellow cartoon kind) with environmentally-friendly soap flakes.

[Ricardian]

Because if Charles dies before the queen, the crown would pass to Andrew as her next eldest son.

No it wouldn't. The death of an intervening heir doesn't affect the line of succession, and never has. cf. Richard II, who became king on the death of his grandfather Edward III, his father having pre-deceased his grandfather. There are presumably other examples.

[CaptainCallisto]

Ah, thanks for that betrayed. I had always thought Charles actually had to have been king before the title passed to his descendants. It's quite a relief actually, as I'm not sure PC is in such robust health as his mother or grandmother!

[listsandbudgets]

Don't know about Charles but my 3 year old d's insists on having his toothpaste squeezed on his brush ready for him..... unhelpful.

But much to malign Price Charles for marrying a divorcee when you remember exactly who started the church of England and why!

Personally I feel a bit sorry for him I think he'd have spent a far happier life as a private individual lurking about the country side with his easel and supporting good causes. Also he's the same age as my parents who've both completed their careers and retired yet he's still hanging around in his late 60s waiting for his mum to die so he can start the job je was allocated at birth.

I'd hate to be royal let alone heir to the throne

[LarryStylison]

Haha! I just looked up his education. He clearly had the best teachers and schools in the world, but, despite this, got 2 Es at A-Level and a 2.2!

Oh dear...

[LarryStylison]

Hmmm...

[LarryStylison]

They look pretty chummy to me...

[LadyMonicaBaddingham]

I like him. I think he gets a bad rap.

[HermioneWeasley]

He's a spoilt, pampered and indulged. He genuinely believes he is special and better than the rest of us.

He makes me shudder

[Oldsu]

Met him a few times through work I do with the Princes trust.

He has an impish sense of humour, first time I met him we were talking about a project and I said 'You can't get the wood you know ' a quote from the Goons who he was a great fan of, he just roared with laughter, met him again 6 months later and he came straight over and talked to me with his 'Eccles' voice ( a Goon character)

Whether or not he will make a good King I cant say, but as a man I have a lot of respect for him - I liked him

[TheNaze73]

YANBU, I kind of like him

[M00nUnit]

I met him at a party where he came over and chatted to me and my family and he was lovely and charming. Also I think he cares very deeply about this country and the people in it. His letters to the government that were published a year or two ago really proved that.

[Valentine2]

I have never managed to get over the way he treated Diana. She had her faults but he was filthy to her and so was Camilla and I never seem to look at him without that shadow. May be because Diana was so young and he wasn't at that the time they married? And I agree with posts saying Saville was his mate and he should've known better. I think I would much rather William takes up after the queen than Charles.

[Ricardian]

*He clearly had the best teachers and schools in the world"

I carry no brief for the royal family (broadly, I see them as the product of a set of historical circumstances which mean that it's probably not worth the effort of a revolution, but were they to all decide tomorrow morning to resign it wouldn't worry me), but that's manifestly untrue.

He was the first in his family to go to university, I think (I could be wrong) the first in his family to have a post-16 or possibly post-14 education other than the military, his parents clearly don't value education and he was sent to a school which he, as most sane people would, absolutely hated and which was academically pretty weak. Had he gone to Eton the argument would have some water, but Prince Phillip chose Gordonstoun precisely because it wasn't academic. I know people who went to Gordonstoun more recently since it became a rather more reasonable proposition, but to argue that Gordonstoun in the 1960s constituted "the best teachers and schools in the world" is pushing it a bit. OK, a lot.

[BMW6]

Saville met many Royals. I doubt very much if any of them regarded him as their "mate", no more than anyone else who met Saville in their line of work

If there is any serious verification for this allegation I would be very interested to see it !!!

[CaptainCrunch]

Like I said BMW, read the Dan Davies book. Savile was well in with the royals and Charles referred to him repeatedly as his mentor.

[sue51]

Of course he is charming. He has had years to rehearse his particular brand of charm. It helps that most civilians he meets are in awe of him and ready to laugh at any mild attempt of humour he might choose to make.

[TiggyD]

I heard the toothpaste thing was when he had broken his arm. Still could have done it one handed though.

[honeyroar]

I like him. I thought he was great on the programme about the queen.

I was never much of a Diana fan, but she was treated badly by the whole establishment and indeed her own family. Why would you let your 19yr old marry someone clearly in love with someone else? Charles should have been allowed to marry Camilla from the start. They have had one of the strongest relationships of their eta.

I imagine William did the Obama greet as he and Kate had been slated for not doing enough recently. He's suddenly had a few high profile jobs lately.

[honeyroar]

Oh and for those mocking his grades, a 2:2 and E grades were good in those days. My father got a third at university, yet was involved in setting up Manchester university's computer dept and training PHD students. He was way brighter than most A grade achievers from nowadays.