Ex-royal staffers claim King Charles was a 'demanding' boss with a short fuse and enormous stamina
LONDON, ENGLAND: As King Charles assumes the role of the monarch after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, there are reports regarding his "severe" working attitude. The 73-year-old is reportedly a demanding boss, several sources have claimed.
Speaking to Express, a source has revealed the monarch's style of working. The source said, “He was demanding in that he is always working. Seven days a week. Never stops. At any moment he may want to call you about something. Working on his boxes, on his ideas, on his papers. The pace is pretty intense.”
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As per the outlet, another source added that phone calls from Charles could happen at any time of day, even on Christmas. Richard Aylard, Charles' private secretary in the 1990s, revealed how he once received a phone call from the royal butler, Harold Brown, to inform him that the monarch would call him at 3 pm. However, the butler called again at 3.30 pm to say he would receive the call at 6 pm, and this went on over the weekend. He eventually called but not quite for the reasons Aylard thought. Charles called and said, "Richard, I’ve been out in the meadow and I’ve found what I think is an orchid.”
A former member of the royal household said that King Charles was “never satisfied with himself, or what he has achieved." The former member added, "People around him had to work hard to keep up. He had enormous stamina. He would drive people hard. He was full of ideas, always asking people to go and do things."
The source added, “The workload as private secretary would be immense. He had strong opinions. He also had a proper temper on him, which was quite fun. He would rarely direct it at the individual. It would be about something, and he would lose his temper. He would throw something.” The source also added, “He would go from zero to 60 in a flash, and then back down again. Things would frustrate him, especially the media.”
Another former member of the household, who worked for Charles after his marriage to Queen Consort Camilla, said, “Someone said to me early in my time how quite a lot of people in that world see it as quite zero-sum. If he’s talking to you, he’s not talking to me; if he’s reading your note, he’s not reading my note.”
The source added, “Well, it’s a court, right? So in our case, there were two individuals who are the font of all power, and everyone wants to be close to that and to be drinking from that.”