Prince Charles will be Britain's 'best prepared monarch' but will have to 'keep his mouth shut': Royal experts
Prince Charles will be the "best prepared monarch" the United Kingdom has ever had but will have to tame his outspoken nature and learn to "keep his mouth shut," royal experts have reportedly claimed in a new documentary. Speaking on ITV's documentary 'The Queen: Inside The Crown', which is scheduled to air at 9 pm on Thursday, May 21, British royal author Penny Junor said that the public's attitude towards the Prince of Wales has changed over the years since his separation from Princess Diana.
Junor, who has authored books including 'Diana, Princess of Wales' (1982), 'Charles, Prince of Wales' (1987 and 1998) and 'Charles and Diana: Portrait of a Marriage' (1991), said that Charles would make a good king. "Prince Charles will be King, and he will be the best prepared monarch this country has ever had," she said, according to a Daily Mail report. "I think the nation has changed in its attitude towards Charles. Years ago we wrote him off as a nutter who talked to his plants but today he is in a really good place."
She added, "He laughs again, he jokes, he's relaxed and I think that makes him a much better prince, a much better father and much better man all around." 'The Queen: Inside The Crown' also featured the Prince of Wales' goddaughter India Hicks, who glows in her assessment of him. "Charles] is a man that is utterly, utterly dedicated to hard work. He has been brilliant in waiting because my god it's been a long time in waiting," she said.
However, others were not so kind in their assessment of Charles, with former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter stating that he would have to learn to "keep his mouth shut" after he ascends to the throne and abandon his "outspoken nature on politics, architecture and the environment". He brought up the letters the Prince of Wales had written to government ministers in 2004 and 2005 expressing his views on policy, and which had earned the nickname "black spider" because of his unique handwriting style.
"He's written his spidery letters to ministers, asking the sort of questions we would want answers to," Arbiter said. "But he won't be able to do that when he becomes King because constitutionally, he'll have to keep his mouth shut." British historian Piers Brendon had a similarly unflattering opinion of how the 71-year-old would fare as the king and said he had the potential to "divide opinion rather than unite it."
Brendon said the father-of-two had a "lot uncomfortable baggage," referring to his highly-publicized split from Princess Diana and affair with current wife Camilla. He pointed out that the Queen, who is the longest-reigning monarch in history and was the first to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee in February 2017 commemorating 65 years on the throne, "never had that". "She emerged absolutely pristine on to the throne," Piers said. "He has had a very rackety past. He could do the crucial thing that a monarch shouldn't do which is to divide opinion rather than unite it."