The Man Who Would Be King.Who is this man that will, at some time in the future, probably become King Charles King Charles can refer to:
Charles comes from the popular press and is almost entirely inaccurate Prince Charles can trace a line of descent Noun 1. line of descent - the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors filiation, lineage, descent family relationship, kinship, relationship - (anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption through all 63 English monarchs For the various rulers of the kingdoms within England prior to its formal unification, during the Heptarchy, see Bretwalda. For a comprehensive list of English, Scottish, and British monarchs, see List of monarchs in the British Isles. to Egbert of Wessex who ruled from 828 to 839. That's a lot of family history. The weight of that heritage has pressed down upon Prince Charles from his earliest days. Unlike the rest of us, he had no freedom of choice. From his birth it was drilled into him that his life was to be one of duty. He must uphold the honour of the Royal Family and his public behaviour must be scrupulously scru·pu·lous adj. 1. Conscientious and exact; painstaking. See Synonyms at meticulous. 2. Having scruples; principled. correct. In his 1994 biography of Prince Charles, Jonathan Dimbleby Jonathan Dimbleby, (born 31 July 1944, Aylesbury) is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. sums up what correctness means to the royal house of Windsor Noun 1. House of Windsor - the British royal family since 1917 Windsor dynasty - a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family Duke of Windsor, Edward, Edward VIII - King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson - "never show undue emotion, always be polite, modest, and do not forget that every gesture is likely to be under the closest scrutiny." His first teachers remember him as "gentle, unusually thoughtful of others, exceptionally modest, and courteous beyond his years." He was an average student, and not particularly good a sport. Prince Charles took an interest in music and art, which are not the traditional pursuits of royal males. He received little affection from his mother and considerable bullying and ridicule from his father, who seems to have thought his son to be, as a family friend put it "a bit of a wimp." Insiders say the coldness and detachment the Queen and Prince Philip Noun 1. Prince Philip - Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921) Duke of Edinburgh, Philip showed towards Charles was not because they did not love their son; they seem to have shielded their emotions from him in order to prepare him for kingship in the way they thought best. He suffered terribly at boarding school. He was isolated and relentlessly bullied. His shyness, sensitivity, and insecurity seemed only to encourage his tormentors; they found the rugby field the perfect place to kick and punch him under the pretence of playing hard. Prince Charles describes his five years at Gordonstoun School as "absolute hell," and a "prison sentence." But, showing a positive side to his nature, he credits the school with teaching him the self-discipline and sense of responsibility that would see him through the life of duty that has followed. Obeying the call of duty got him into a disastrously unhappy marriage. Duty required that he produce an heir to the throne. He could not marry the woman he loved; Camilla Parker-Bowles was already married and the rules say that the heir to the throne of England can't marry a divorced person. So, he did his duty and married Diana Spencer. They gave the people Prince William and Prince Harry. But, in common with so many others, the marriage fell apart very publicly and very bitterly. As this happened, the tabloid newspapers took over where the high school bullies left off. Charles's interests in eastern religions, mysticism, and organic farming organic farming, the practice of raising plants—especially fruits and vegetables, but ornamentals as well—without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. were mocked and he became known as "the potty Prince." Despite the unreal world in which he lives, Prince Charles is like the rest of us. He has many fine qualities and his fair share of flaws. |
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