Penny Junor: Prince Charles ‘is quite vulnerable & surprisingly thin-skinned’

National Service Of Remembrance At The Cenotaph

As we’ve discussed relentlessly over the past six months or so, Prince Charles’ careful, decades-long rehabilitation has completely blown up. The first domino to fall was The Crown’s Season 4, where Charles’ toxicity towards Diana was laid bare. Then Prince Harry spoke about his father during the Oprah interview, and it was clear that Harry was still really hurt by his father’s spinelessness and inability to protect Harry, Meghan and Archie. Then to top it all off, 47% of Brits don’t even want to see Charles as king. Woof. All of which led to Penny Junor saying many words to the Daily Beast about Charles’ current headspace. Some highlights:

Penny Junor on the poll showing that more people want to see William as king: “Knowing him, I imagine he’ll be feeling very disappointed and depressed by what he is having to read at the moment about himself.” Junor has little doubt Charles is still, if not jealous, at least envious of William’s popularity. “It’s very hurtful and difficult for Charles to see all the attention on his son, and his pretty wife and his lovely children. Charles and Camilla are grandparents. They can’t compete with that… I’m sure he’s really proud of William. I’m sure he’s really proud of the incredible work he has done and the success he has made of his marriage and family. But he also doesn’t want to be erased just yet.”

Junor on the impact of The Crown: “The other thing that cannot be underestimated is the impact of The Crown. I would imagine that this survey is massively influenced by the fourth series of The Crown which cast Charles in an astonishingly bad light. We saw a spoiled brat being foul to an enchanting girl. We saw nothing of his good works, nothing of the thousands of people who have a good life today because of what Prince Charles has done for them. Of course we didn’t—it’s a drama. But people lapped it up.”

Junor on the Sussexes’ Oprah interview: “Harry was incredibly disparaging about Charles and again, many people lapped it up. I know he would be hurt by what Harry said about him and the untruths that were said about him, for example that he cut Harry off financially. So, yes he is having a tough time right now. He is quite vulnerable, he is surprisingly thin-skinned. We tend to think that because people are public figures we can say what we like about them and it won’t affect them. But that’s not the case. And it’s bad enough when it it’s random trolls online, but when your son goes on Oprah and says unfair and unkind things about you? Well, yes that’s going to hurt someone like Charles.”

Robert Lacey on the Oprah interview: It was striking “how gratuitous Harry’s unkindness was to his father. When he was asked about his relationship with William, he had an answer ready—a diplomatic repetition of what he said in Africa, speaking about the distance between them. When he was asked about his dad, he could have said the same sort of thing. But instead he visibly paused and went for the jugular. I think it will be particularly hurtful to Charles since he was quite an advocate for Meghan at the start. He walked her down the aisle. He nicknamed her ‘tungsten,’ the hardest metal in the world, and he thought that it was good for Harry to have a really strong woman by his side. Charles’ strength and weakness is that he feels things deeply, and I think he will feel very deeply about what Harry said on Oprah. The personal nature of it must be wounding. The animus to publicly wound his father in a way that was not necessary would likely be very upsetting to Charles.”

Lacey on William and palace intrigue: “I think [Charles] is reassured by the knowledge that any speculation that William should be the next to take the crown is not of William’s making. William would be completely opposed to that. He would be the last person to countenance the idea that he should supplant his father. Charles knows and acknowledges that. He understands there is absolutely no danger from William and Kate to his reign.”

[From The Daily Beast]

Lacey’s analysis is fascinating, right? William “would be the last person to countenance the idea that he should supplant his father. Charles knows and acknowledges that. He understands there is absolutely no danger from William and Kate to his reign.” I wouldn’t be so sure! Yes, Charles will be king and there’s nothing William can do. And yes, Baldemort is too lazy and short-sighted to actually try to overthrow his father. But… the desire is absolutely there for Baldingham, Keen Guevara and don’t forget Carole Middleton. As for the idea that Charles is jealous of William’s popularity… it’s funny because both William and Charles are engorged with rage and jealousy towards Meghan and Harry and their popularity. And it’s never a good thing to describe someone as “surprisingly thin-skinned.”

Singer Beyonce Knowles Carter wearing an outfit by Alexander McQueen and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry arrives at the World Premiere Of Disney's 'The Lion King' held at the Dolby Theatre on July 9, 2019 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. (Ph

HRH The Prince of Wales Birthday Family Portrait

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

71 Responses to “Penny Junor: Prince Charles ‘is quite vulnerable & surprisingly thin-skinned’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Chill says:

    I can’t wrap my head around the fact that reporters think they know what Harry’s relationship with is father is like. None of us know. Harry does and he spoke his truth. Period. It is his to speak.

  2. Harla says:

    “Surprisingly thin skinned “ the only “surprise” about that statement is that anyone is surprised by what is pretty common knowledge.

  3. Bex says:

    Which is why Penny Junor has spent the last 30 years doing his dirty work in order to diminish Diana.

  4. Ksweet says:

    I hope Harry sues Penny Junor for calling him a liar.

  5. Ann says:

    “Untruths?” How would SHE know whether what Harry said about Charles is true or not? Does she have access to their phones? Charles’ bank account?

    The lack of journalistic integrity is astonishing. They’re spokespeople, plain and simple.

  6. Vanessa says:

    I guess William thinks it ok to start throwing people under the bus again after keeping quiet because his statement about his grandfather blow up in his face .

    • Eating Popcorn says:

      I think this is all William… see how bad poor emotional Charles is? It’s not just Charles but that liar Harry, too…

      • Liz version 700 says:

        Agree, tgat top pic is interesting in that Will has his hand on his word like he is dreaming of sticking it in his Dad’s back.

  7. Cecilia says:

    If charles feels disappointed about the revelations harry made in the interview perhaps he should do something about it. Like oh i dunno apologize 🤷🏽‍♀️.

    As for charles not being worried about william and kate, I don’t think he’s worried of being side lined (simply because its not possible to skip an heir) but he is scared of william.

    That being said i think its weird that such a staunch charles fan (penny) has the balls to come out and say that charles is bothered by the fact that his son is more popular.

    • Zoe B says:

      I agree he is scared of William. But why???? Why is he terrified of William. Something is odd about it.

      • Cecilia says:

        Because charles’ reputation is in the gutter thanks to diana and i think the press knows that any attempt to salvage it falls flat anyway (won’t stop them from trying)

        BUT because charles is a lost cause everybody focuses on william. He has the tabloid press firmly on his side. And as we have seen, they can do some serious damage.

      • Me says:

        I’ve seen this dynamic in families—weak people and people who are not willing to be constantly embattled will give way to the disordered rage-aholic in their midst just to buy a little peace. A lot, probably most, people don’t have the stomach for the screaming fights and endless chaos and enmity. So the family dynamic warps into one where the rage monster is placated and everyone walks on eggshells around that individual, which only reinforces the bad behavior.

  8. Lauren says:

    Had Chuck been a better man, a better husband and a better father reports on him wouldn’t be so disparaging. Harry has had years to make peace with the knowledge that his brother is an ahole. What Harry wasn’t expecting was for his father to pull back his support when Harry and his family were most vulnerable, and that is something that Harry needs time to forgive. His father pulled back his support when there were physical threats to Harry’s family, while Meghan was still in a fragile state and Archie a newborn.

    • AnneSurely says:

      “We saw a spoiled brat being foul to an enchanting girl. We saw nothing of his good works, nothing of the thousands of people who have a good life today because of what Prince Charles has done for them”

      This exactly, Lauren. This quote in particular caught me. Folks don’t really care about your good works if you are a terrible person, especially since whatever Charles has done for certain people in England will never match the magnitude of Diana’s work on behalf of people with AIDS. Ever. The RRs want folks to forget that she singlehandedly turned the tide of public opinion during a time of incredible fear, discrimination, and upheaval. Whatever farm to table bulls$%t Charles has going on in the country is never going to hold a candle to that.

      Also, Charles’ nickname for Meghan. Like, the gaslighting here. She would not have needed to be strong if the royal households hadn’t been abusing her at every level. I can’t with these people.

      Charles is a petty, narcissistic, navel-gazer in expensive suits. He can’t PR his way out of folks remembering that.

      • Snuffles says:

        Maybe if Charles didn’t spend his lifetime being triggered with jealousy over his entire family to the point of briefing against them to try and kill said popularity, people would pay attention to the good work he has done. Instead he’s got the whole world paying attention to the family soap opera instead.

        His whole life he’s been jealous that Anne was Daddy’s favorite, Andrew was Mummy’s favorite and that Diana and her children were the public’s favorite. If he just focused on his work, maybe people would be appreciating it by now.

      • Bren says:

        As an afterthought, the nickname tungsten was the go-ahead for the British press to attack Meghan in the manner in which they did.

        Other than walking Meghan halfway down the aisle, Charles has never shown himself to be an advocate for her. How long will the press hang their hat on that one brief act of kindness by Charles? It’s ridiculous.

      • Carmen-JamRock says:

        “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
        People will forget what you did,
        But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

        – Maya Angelou

      • Tessa says:

        Charles only walked Meghan down the aisle IMO to give himself good PR. He just let the fake news about Meghan proliferate and he even ignored that his grandson was lightened to a chimp

    • Pamuk says:

      Exactly

    • Lee says:

      I always thought he pulled away the support as a way of forcing them to come home never dreaming Harry and Meghan could make it without his help. Such a strange culture. All the resources poured into the heir while the other family members are pretty much made financial dependents of the queen/ heir to keep them in line. William is the heir and he appears to have gotten all the love while Harry was just the spare. Harry so wants Charles affection and approval just like Charles wanted his father’s. Diana’s ghost hovering over it all. Its like a scene from the Thornbirds.

  9. S808 says:

    “Surprisingly” lol.

    And yeah you’re right. Charles is jealous of William’s popularity and they’re BOTH jealous of H&M’s popularity hence bullying Meghan to suicide ideation and running them both out of the country. Charles must have a plan for them once he’s king cause I’d very concerned and consider it a danger that they don’t work and have no substantial projects to their name as the future monarch.

    • Cecilia says:

      Do you think that when the queen dies and charles officially becomes king he will direct his scorn to william? I always said that since the sussexes left william and charles would start a media war. But i can see charles being scared of the tabloid press, a tabloid press thats basically fully in williams corner

      • S808 says:

        I could definitely see them going back in forth via the tabs. I could also see Charles withholding the POW title til William gets it together.

  10. mess says:

    “We tend to think that because people are public figures we can say what we like about them and it won’t affect them.”

    I cannot believe *this* see-you-next-tuesday actually said this with all the BS she and the rest of the carnival of so-called experts had/have been spewing about Diana and the Sussexes. Holy crap zero self awareness.

  11. Plums says:

    Interesting to see a flat out denial and accusation of lying on Harry’s part, with regards to Charles cutting him off financially. That to me was one of the most damning details that came to light in the Oprah interview- the level of discord between Harry and Charles, the fact that the only money Harry had access to at all was what Diana left him, his security was totally cut off even after his location was leaked in the press and everyone knew where they were living in Canada, and most especially that Charles stopped taking his calls. That all was just godawful to me, and made Charles look absolutely loathsome.

    And I remember how shocking it felt too, because that entire year between sussexit and the interview, Charles was kind of flying under the radar- everyone I guess assumed he was being quietly supportive and helping fund their expenses with his private duchy funds. All the drama was between Harry and William. But then the interview airs, and Harry is all “yeah, William and I haven’t really been speaking at all, but LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW DISAPPOINTED I AM WITH MY TERRIBLE FATHER” and it was like “holy shit!”

    So now are they trying to say Harry was lying about Charles cutting him off cold turkey after they left? I don’t think Harry would have said it if he didn’t have proof.

    • sunny says:

      Yes to all this! I was surprised but it read to me like Harry was so hurt because he had expectations of his father. He thought his father wouldn’t screw him over. I’m pretty sure Harry has already made his peace with the Other Brother being trash which is why that relationship was “space”. Basically he has no f%$^ to give about Will but he was hurt by and expected better from terrible coward daddy.

      As to what Penny reported, of course Chuck is thin-skinned! This is a man who couldn’t stand Diana’s popularity. *Shrug*

    • Sunday says:

      re: Charles cutting him off, I think Charles is probably clinging to some obscure technicality, like the Sussexes still had an active address at BP so they weren’t cut off or something like that. It’s similar to the uproar about Meghan “lying” about exchanging personal vows with Harry before the wedding – we know what she meant and only a completely disingenuous interpretation would cast her as a liar. If Charles had definitive proof that Harry was lying, his media minions would’ve already leaked the explicit details. This is all just wildly creative spin on the tiniest of threads that he’s clinging to.

      • Snuffles says:

        This. I think he cut him off and his excuse was “protocol”. And Harry expected to be given time to get his own security properly set up and have a smooth transition. But Charles was like, if you don’t return to the UK, I’m cutting you off!

        I think part of the issue was them being in Canada and the Canadian government was footing the bill while Harry and Meghan were there and didn’t want to continue to do so beyond March 31st. Or, Charles probably claimed that once Harry and Meghan left Canada, he could no longer protect them.

        But, even if that was true, Charles was MORE than capable of footing the bill himself while Harry got his personal security sorted. There was no reason why royal protection officers couldn’t stick around long enough for a smooth transition.

      • ShazBot says:

        I’ll also never forget how the media pounced on them being poor and made comics about them crawling back to the BP ATM because they were destitute. The media knew.

    • Cecilia says:

      Oprah, gayle and janina have repeatedly stated that they have proof for everything that was said in the interview. And harry and meghan aren’t dumb enough to get on air and say things they have no proof for. The conversations around archies skintone? Pretty sure there are text messages
      Meghan reaching out for help because of mental health struggles. There are emails
      Kate making meg cry— meghan has that apology note

      And as for harry’s claims that charles cut him off— it would be a matter of phoning the bank and asking them for a copy of their bankaccount balance at that time

    • S808 says:

      I’m still trying wrap my head around that revelation. To just leave your child high and dry like that when they’re in a crisis….the total abandonment….I don’t think I’d want to work on my relationship with my parent if they did that to me. I don’t know how you reconcile after that.

    • Bren says:

      Calling Harry a liar is another way to try to get H&M to release the receipts. Not knowing what H&M would release and when is the worst possible scenario for the royal family. It prevents them from truly controlling the narrative around Harry and Meghan’s reasons for leaving royal duty and the UK.

      • A says:

        I think that the press actually want this though. They want Meghan and Harry to release the receipts so that they can then have material to pick apart for months and months. It’s free press and they are salivating at the prospect.

  12. Sunday says:

    That these people after all this time still don’t recognize how completely problematic Charles’ “loving” nickname for Meghan is just shows their complete incompetence as journalists. Yes, she may be a strong person, but the constant personification of the “strong Black woman” actively works to minimize real emotion and pain and while I’m sure he thought it was a compliment it’s actually harmful and perpetuates an incredibly dehumanizing stereotype.

    • Shan says:

      I was hopping on here to say just this. Telling someone who is traumatized that they’re “so strong” dismisses their ongoing pain. She is incredibly strong, and she is also a human being who was isolated and suffering. Those two things co-exist!

    • Emily_C says:

      Yep. I’m white, but I’m disabled, and while it’s not the same, there’s a similarity to it. Certain people are supposed to keep quiet and not bother other people with anything, and that’s called “strength.”

  13. FancyPants says:

    “He was quite an advocate for Meghan at the start.” At the start? I’d think she would try to say he was *always* an advocate for Meghan, but here she is qualifying “at the start” (because he walked Meghan down the aisle and then threw her to the wolves). I think what he should be feeling very deeply is regret over how he didn’t do what [little] he could do to buffer the trash tabloids and his other son. And anybody who finds it surprising that he is thin-skinned has not been paying attention for the last 40 years.

    • Cecilia says:

      And it actually further proves that harry was telling the truth because he explicitly said that everybody loved her until the oceania tour, when they saw how good she actually was at the job

      In other words: the family liked her but when they saw the public fall in love with her jealousy took over.

  14. Mina_Esq says:

    It it weren’t true that Charles cut Harry off financially and pulled his security, then he could have said so. He didn’t, because it’s all true. If you don’t want to look bad for cutting off your kid, then don’t cut off your kid lol

  15. SH says:

    Harry went after his father because his father truly betrayed him. William was shit from the beginning so Harry knew where he stood.
    Charless made a show of embracing Meghan and benefited greatly from that PR, but then in 2019 sold Harry and Meghan out when jealous William was upset that about that good publicity with Daddy. So Charles ever fearful of William’s popularity and any direct conflict with him for much of the last 20 years sold Harry and Meghan out just to gain the appearance that William was embracing him with a documentary appearance and few more photos.

  16. YAS says:

    “Surprisingly?” This is about as surprising as driving off a cliff and then being shocked that gravity exists. Where has Penny been these past few decades?

  17. S808 says:

    Deleted.

  18. Snuffles says:

    All I’m getting from this is DUH, we been knew Charles is thin skinned and jealous. And apparently it’s OK for Charles to have hurt feelings but not Harry and Meghan. 🙄 Once again, it’s ALL about THEM.

    “You hurt my feelings by telling the world that *I* hurt your feelings! How DARE you make me look bad!” 😭😭😭😭

  19. Amy Bee says:

    Charles and Clarence House lied to the press that he was supporting Harry and Meghan financially and emotionally. What Harry did in the Oprah interview was set the record straight regarding Charles’ reaction to and position on Harry’s decision to leave. Charles and supporters are only upset that Harry let the public know the truth.

  20. GuestWho says:

    He’s “hurt” by the poll, by the Crown, and by the Oprah interview. What do these things have in common? Charles acting like a dick. He’s hurt that people have noticed that he can be an unrelenting jerk. He’s not remorseful that he hurt his first wife or his son deeply, just that his carefully curated image has been shot.

  21. ABritGuest says:

    If Penny says Harry is lying why doesn’t she just set out what the untruths are? By Duchy of Cornwall’s own accounts financial support for the Sussexes ended March 2020. And the likes of Katie nicholls have defended Charles for not funding security privately so assuming that’s true too.

    Tbh I was surprised by Charles’ possible role in this whole drama thinking that he was just being strategic and keeping quiet so as not to attract the press’ wrath. I assumed per the press briefings at the time, that he was supporting them initially whilst they transitioned out of the royal roles. So it was interesting last year when the Sussexes corrected reports that Charles had helped them with their house purchase& set out they hadn’t got any public or royal funding since end of March 2020.

    I wonder if it’s the ‘supportive dad’ PR that was put out there knowing that Charles was apparently anything but is why Harry was more forthright about Charles. Plus Charles is his only living parent and as Harry suggested, Charles has had to fight for the woman he wanted so could have understood Harry’s perspective. Still, Harry just said he felt let down by him in the interview. It could have been worse.

    If all they can point to as Charles championing Meghan is walking her down the aisle and calling her Tungsten then that kind of proves the point about lack of support after initial welcome lol. Plus didn’t that Tatler hit piece just before Meghan had Archie claim Charles said she was lovely but he hoped Harry didn’t marry her?

  22. emu says:

    haha love ” Keen Guevara “

  23. TheOriginalMia says:

    Charles is thin-skinned. Some of us lived during the Diana years. We don’t need the Crown to tell us what we witnessed at the time. As for Junor, I don’t know if she hates Harry because of Diana or because he isn’t toeing the family line. Charles is a coward for not supporting Harry & Meghan. Regardless of the nicknames and walking her down the aisle, when push came to shove, he fell back on the monarchy is always right, and let her be abused and cast aside. That’s all on Charles. He has to work to repair his relationship with Harry first and then Meghan. It’s not going to be easy because he betrayed their trust, but Harry seems willing to try.

    As for Charles & William, they are stuck in their roles. Charles will leak against William when he wants William to toe the line, and William will continue to undermine Charles until he becomes PoW.

  24. Sarah says:

    Well, well, well Chucky! If it isn’t the consequences of your own actions! Now choke on them.

  25. North of Boston says:

    Reading those quotes has made me flash back to my undergrad Psych classes.
    I think the entire raft of working royals would do well to have a good read of Erikson’s stages of development, particularly focusing on the middle and late adulthood parts

    40s-50s Generativity vs Stagnation: All about making your mark, making a difference in the world, doing things that make your life count
    60s + Integrity vs despair: All about reflecting on what you’ve done so far, continuing to build on that, seeing the meaning in your life and building for your legacy … helping those who come next, paving the way for that

    It’s they are all, especially William and Charles, locked in this weird battle to one up each other and the world, trying to manage their public images through really fleeting and transient means but are failing to actually do the work needed for their current stage of life: William not actually DOING anything to make his mark, beyond press releases, leaks and brief superficial appearances, and Charles refusing to be patriarchal and failing to focus on things that have meaning. There is no reason in the world why the FK and a grown man with his background, experience should have a thin skin. He should be in the no-f’s to give stage of his life, reflecting on what he’s built, focusing on important things, setting up systems and structures that could outlast him (while trying to help William shape up, step up or whatever the heck it is that will help William grow up)

  26. what's inside says:

    Diana once said that Harry was like her. I think in view of the evidence of time and deeds that it is fair to say William is most like Charles except lazier.

  27. Over it says:

    Did penny only get a part of her check this month? Would explain the thin skinned part . Also if Chucky was indeed being supportive emotionally and financially, well then they won’t have had to leave and find their own way, Chucky did bad by them. He backed Baldimort at the expense of Harry and his family because heir over love as always

  28. Over it says:

    Robert really needs to stop talking out both sides of his ass. If Charles is so wounded and innocent, the show us proof.

  29. equality says:

    So Charles is allowed to be hurt by what the media says but H&M aren’t? That’s really all I get from this load. And what “incredible” work by Will is Charles so proud of?

  30. MangoAngelesque says:

    I can’t help but feel rather nauseated every time I read the word “engorged” in relation to William or Charles.

  31. Gk says:

    Do you all think the main reason Charles and William wanted Harry to stay is to do part of the work ( cutting ribbons/ patronages/ showing up to events) ?
    I think William also benefited from scapegoating Harry, ie the whole private plane, look at me getting on a commercial plane type situations but did Charles do that also?
    I wonder if Charles wanted an ally when William, the palace, anyone else was attacking him and thus wanted Harry to be his ally.

  32. Emily_C says:

    Calling Charles “spineless” is way too generous. He didn’t cut off Harry, Meghan, and Archie’s security because he’s “spineless.” He didn’t pretend he was supporting them when he was not because he’s “spineless.” He’s cold and manipulative.

    Also, his environmental stuff is shading into eco-fascism. (Will’s is 100% eco-fascism, with telling Africans to stop having children.) If he really cared deeply about environmentalism rather than his pure pristine gardens, he’d be speaking out against oil, natural gas, coal, and war.

  33. swirlmamad says:

    Hmmmmm….first Harry, and now Charles are being portrayed as thin skinned, unstable, and fragile in comparison to strong statesman Will. Wonder what the common denominator is????

    And is this old bee-yotch seriously for real, talking about online trolls and people saying what they like about public figures with no regard for their feelings???? 😳🤪😵

  34. KW says:

    let’s not forget that it was Charles’ biographer who was spilling all the tea about tiara-gate and William’s tantrums. It was all around this time that his jealousy over the popularity of Meghan and Harry was ever increasing. He jumped in to the role of walking her down the aisle, but only for his own image. He also spilt the tea about not seeing William’s children and blaming the Middletons, and let’s not forget all his friends saying shitty things about his own sons, HIS OWN SONS. This man is a coward and a loser.

    The only thing Charles ever cared about was being Camilla’s tampon. What happens to that role now she is in menopause?

  35. A says:

    “Charles is quite vulnerable and suprisingly thin-skinned.” Well yeah, no f-cking sh-t Sherlock. Everybody knew that from the day he became a grown adult covered by the press. And who in this world is also not vulnerable and thin-skinned, in spite of it all? Is there anyone in this world who, in spite of every effort, has managed to shut down their emotional faculties to the degree where some things don’t hurt them deeply? What is surprising about ANY of that?

    Like, Charles, my dude, nothing about that is surprising, okay. It’s stuff like this that makes me wonder what sort of f-cksh-t system he was brought up in. You can smell the shame he’s feeling about having this put out there at all, and it’s like…you shouldn’t be brought up to feel this awful about the fact that you’re sensitive and have feelings. Good grief. The fact that he nicknamed Meghan “Tungsten”, in praise of her strength…he genuinely probably thought that was something worthy of praise, when he really should have been appalled at the fact that she was placed in a situation where she needed to be that strong in the first place.

    What’s really sad to me, though, is the wasted potential here. Here you have a sensitive, compassionate individual, born into an institution that systematically sought at every turn to either a) stamp it out of him bc it was seen as a weakness, or b) indulge in its worst whims under the guise of being “supportive” (looking at you here, Queen Mummy & Louis Mountbatten, don’t think I don’t see your b-tch -ss even after you’re dead). Either way, Charles has never really had his emotional needs met by any of the people who should have been there for him, bc his sensitivity was a strength that he could have cultivated for his benefit, rather than something that ultimately led to his downfall.

    On a side note–I do actually believe that William encouraged Harry to go to therapy. And I believe that William likely went for therapy himself for a few years, possibly at the behest of Kate at some point. I think that him, Harry and Kate really were sincere abt their advocacy for better awareness and less stigmatization of mental health, at least at the start. And I’m totally spitballing here, but I think that it was likely William who first became aware of the connection between early childhood and mental health, probably bc he was more able to put two and two together to make that conclusion for his own life, back when he had more than 4 strands of hair on his head.

    I say this not to give Baldy some credit, or to make him come off as more empathetic and compassionate than he is today, but to say that he, too, had something of a chance to be someone else at some point, just like Charles did. I think this is also what Harry means when he said that his father and brother are both trapped. William has only become worse in the last ten years. He was always something of a hardass, but when he could muster up the decency to care, he cared in a fierce way. But somehow, that fierceness has just dissolved into a wall of anger and outrage and self-centeredness you have what you have today.

  36. Randie says:

    Charles’ jealousy over William and Kate popularity is a thorn in his side. Then here comes Harry and Meghan. Their popularity was rising rising rising and Charles hated it. Even Harry said himself of their own Australian tour: “The tour was the first time that the family got to see how incredible she is at the job, and that brought back memories,” referencing Princess Diana’s 1983 Australia tour.

    Addressing Harry, Oprah summed up the episode of “The Crown” featuring the tour and asked if Harry saw parallels: “Your father and your mother went there, and your mother was bedazzling? So, are you saying that there were hints of jealousy?”

    “I just wish that we would all learn from the past,” Harry answered, adding that it was “effortless” for Markle to connect with people on their tour.

    “Here you have one of the greatest assets to the Commonwealth that the family could have ever wished for,” he said of his wife.

    Bottom line Charles hated Meghan being a “greatest asset.”

    Even Diana said of their Australian tour: “With the media attention came a lot of jealousy,” Diana told the BBC in a 1995 broadcast, referring to Charles. “A great deal of complicated situations arose because of that.”

  37. Larry says:

    Kaiser – please stop calling Charles and Baldemort ‘engorged’ – it automatically makes me think of Ten Things I Hate About You, and I have no desire to think about their quivering members!!!!! It’s going to take me some good time to get that image out of my head, and as soon as I manage, you fire the word out again in the next article I read.