He ascended the throne at the age of 73, making history as the oldest British monarch at the start of his reign. For almost seventy years that Charles has been waiting for this moment – a record for a crown prince – he is more than ready. Inaugurations, medal ceremonies, State dinners, trips and garden parties no longer hold any secrets for him. He has traveled to nearly 100 countries, met many of the greats of this world, shook millions of hands. But who is this new king of England, much less popular than his mother Elizabeth II?
“He is a good professional of the monarchy, believes Michel Faure, author of a biography of Prince Charles. He will be a rather benevolent king (…) but very different from his mother. It is said of him that he has fixed ideas on many subjects, that he is a man of passions which have sometimes aroused admiration and often criticism.
In Diana’s Shadow
But many know little about him except his shattering divorce from Princess Diana and the tragedy of her death that nearly cost him the Crown, his longstanding commitment to climate change and those rumors that the tabloids feast on: a valet would file toothpaste on his toothbrush, another would iron his shoelaces. Seven boiled eggs are said to be cooked for him to make sure one finds favor with his eyes, and he wore a 1984 frock coat to his son Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018: which he himself confirmed in his hushed voice, explaining that he didn’t like throwing things away and still got into it.
Charles, Philip, Arthur, George became heir to the throne aged 3 and 3 months when his 25-year-old mother became queen in February 1952. At 4 and a half, he attended his coronation at Westminster Abbey between his grand- mother and her aunt Margaret. At the age of 9, his mother conferred on him the title of Prince of Wales. The eldest of four children, he grew up, shy and lonely, entrusted to nannies and a governess, then sent very young to boarding school, in particular to the very strict boarding school of Gordonstoun in Scotland. He then studied anthropology, archeology and history at the University of Cambridge.
But its title creates an inevitable distance with this introverted and awkward prince, with protruding ears.
An undefined role
He was crowned Prince of Wales by his mother in July 1969 during a grandiose televised ceremony, carried out his military duty from 1971 to 1976 in the air force and navy, before devoting himself fully to his obligations as a prince. heir: an indefinite role, “responsible for supporting the queen to ensure the influence of the monarchy”. He managed this life spent waiting as well as possible, with passions that were sometimes disconcerting, sometimes visionary.
In 1976 he created his first charity, the Prince’s Trust, which has since helped more than a million young people in difficulty. Others will follow, for which the prince has collected millions of pounds to support the causes that are dear to him, ecology, architecture, education. In total, he is president or benefactor of more than 420 charities.
A marriage without love
After a few marivaudages and the passing years, the heir to the Crown agreed in 1981 to marry without love Lady Diana Spencer, a 19-year-old virgin aristocrat, with whom he would have two sons, Princes William and Harry, before returning, a once his duty accomplished, in the arms of his childhood sweetheart Camilla Parker Bowles, at the time married to another. The Welsh couple was torn apart by tabloids and books for years, shook the monarchy and officially separated in 1992. Their divorce, finalized in 1996, turned into a national tragedy with the death of Princess Diana in August 1997 in Paris, while that she was being chased by paparazzi. Charles sees his approval rating plummet to 4%.
The prince is depressed but hangs on. A well-run communication campaign will slowly restore its image. He promises not to remarry and follows the recommendations of his advisers for once, not showing himself in public with Camilla. But he has only one goal: to get her accepted.
Unimaginable a few years earlier, the queen finally consented to her remarriage during a civil ceremony in 2005, to which she did not come, however organizing a reception for the bride and groom. The British are sensitive to this amorous stubbornness. Little by little his popularity is rising, even if the Diana years have never been forgotten. Prince Charles was 54% in favor in August 2021, according to a YouGov poll, far behind the Queen (80%), Prince William (78%) or his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton (75%).
man of convictions
Over the years, her hair has turned white, her complexion has become redder. Always impeccably dressed, Charles also relaxed, happily joking in public. A man of convictions, he does not hide them. For years, he has insisted on the urgency in the face of global warming. He defends organic farming, alternative medicine, short circuits.
Since 2007, it has published its ecological footprint (3,133 tonnes of CO2 in 2020 compared to 5,070 in 2019). And plants trees that he talks to. In 2008, he proposed a global fund to fight against the destruction of tropical forests. He also has an electric jaguar, usually skips lunch, and only eats meat on certain days. “In the 1970s, he was almost a visionary, but he was called eccentric,” says Penny Junor, author of several books on the British royal family. “He’s an activist,” said Michel Faure. “He has ideas, wants to make them known, and persuade his subjects that they are amazing”.
Sure of himself, he does not like to be contradicted and no one tries it. “He’s a bit self-centered, he grew up being the center of his universe, with people telling him he was wonderful,” says Penny Junor.
In the 2000s, he had written to ministers of the Blair government to talk about health, education, but also the war in Iraq or the illegal fishing of Patagonian toothfish, at the risk of being accused of political interference . Defender of rurality, critic of modern architecture – in the 1980s he had an extension project for the National Gallery derailed – he created two small towns on his land in the south-west of England, Poundbury in 1993 and Nansledan in 2013, based on his ideas of traditional architecture and sustainable development.
Finally popularity?
He also preached an unexpected religious ecumenism for a future leader of the Anglican Church. His sometimes criticized way of life has until now been fed by the income of the Duchy of Cornwall, created in 1337 to ensure the subsistence of the heir to the throne. These 53,000 hectares of agricultural land, businesses and properties bring him more than 20 million pounds per year. Tireless, he continues to ensure hundreds of commitments per year. And paints watercolors in his spare time. And now king, he will now have to respect strict neutrality. “He will always have a little trouble controlling himself,” said Michel Faure. “He fully understands what the monarchy is and how our constitution works”, tempers Penny Junor. And according to her, with her new functions, should come the popularity that she has so lacking.