King Charles is a ‘demanding boss’ with ‘a fierce temper and ferocious work ethic’
Prince Charles is a demanding boss with a ‘fierce temper and a ferocious work ethic’ who sometimes ‘falls under the spell’ of outside advisers, according to a new book quoting former employees.
One former member of his household described how the King can go from ‘zero to 60 in a flash and then back down again’, although he ‘rarely directs’ his anger at individuals.
‘Things would frustrate him, especially the media,’ the insider told Valentine Low in his new book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, extracts of which have been published in The Times.
Former members of Charles’ staff described him as someone with ‘enormous stamina’ and lots of ideas who is ‘always working… seven days a week’.
While the King is ‘very demanding of himself’ he expects similar from his staff, with phone calls coming ‘at any time’ until 11pm at night and even at Christmas – the book claims.
‘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,’ one former courtier said.
Charles leaving church on Sunday in his first public appearance since his late mother’s funeral
Charles is presented as a ‘man on a mission’ with a huge range of interests.
As a result, the book describes how he has amassed scores of outside advisers who share their thoughts on ‘architecture, alternative medicine, business, organic farming, housing, Jungian psychoanalysis, Islamic art, rainforests, crop circles and the media’.
Dealing with these advisers’ ‘helpful suggestions’ was one of the challenges of working for Charles, Low claims.
The journalist writes that the royal was ‘not always a good judge of who should have his ear’.
‘Jimmy Savile, the broadcaster and charity fundraiser who, after his death, was revealed to have been a serial sexual abuser, wrote a handbook for Charles on how the royal family should deal with the media after big disasters.
‘Charles passed on his tips to the Duke of Edinburgh, who in turn showed them to the Queen.’
One former member of staff suggested these outside advisers sometimes undermined the morale of Charles’ team by suggesting they were falling short.
‘He loves it when someone says, ”Oh, they have got it wrong, sir, listen to me. I can see it better; I am outside of this,” the source told Low. ‘The prince falls under people’s spell. That could then lead to real problems for individuals.’
King Charles and wife Camilla greeted well-wishers at church yesterday during their first public appearance since the late Queen’s funeral.
The King and Queen Consort Camilla looked pensive as they were driven to Crathie Kirk, the Scottish parish church close to the Balmoral estate.
Charles, 73, wore black while Camilla, 75, appeared to be wearing black, grey and red check tartan under her sombre black coat.
The couple looked serious but managed a smile for a small crowd of well-wishers as they arrived at the church.
It was the first time they had been seen in public since the State funeral for Queen Elizabeth II last Monday.
She attended services at Crathie Kirk regularly when she spent summers at Balmoral Castle, where she died earlier this month.
A new book has described Charles (pictured with Queen Consort Camilla) as a ‘demanding boss’ with a strong work ethic
King Charles’s first public appearance since the state funeral of his late mother Queen Elizabeth II on Monday follows an official photograph of the monarch hard at work which was released by the Royal Family on Friday evening.
The image, which was taken last week, shows the King sitting in the 18th Century Room of Buckingham Palace while he reviews documents from the red box.
In the photo there were a few subtle nods to his late mother and father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, which showed how the monarch will remember their influence when carrying out his royal duties.
Most striking was the black-and-white photo of the Queen and Prince Philip which sat on the side table behind the King’s desk while he worked on reviewing documents from his red box.
According to the Royal Family’s Instagram account, which published the photo of the King hard at work, the photo of the monarch’s late parents, was a gift from them to King George VI in 1951 at Christmas.
The photo of the Queen and Prince Philip is not the first tribute of its kind from the King, 73, after he addressed the nation for the first time on Friday 9 September from the Blue Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, where some of Her late Majesty’s Christmas speeches had been filmed, with a photo of Her late Majesty on the desk next to him.
This official photograph of the monarch hard at work was released by the Royal Family on Friday evening
During the address, he also told the nation how he will draw upon his mother’s example during his own reign.
The King said: ‘Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen – my beloved Mother – was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.
‘Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing.
The book also touched on the leadership style of King Charles’ son, Prince William, describing how he told staff to ditch suits while working around his family at Kensington Palace
‘That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.’
Royal fans may also have noticed a tribute to King Charles’s mother in the bouquet of flowers sitting behind the red box in the new photo.
The display of blue and lilac petals appears to include sprigs of delphinium, a flower that holds several meanings. Primarily, delphinium is recognised as a sign of encouragement, joy and hope.
However, it also holds a more poignant symbolism for people who are grieving – in that it is often used to commemorate the lives of loved ones who have recently passed away.
Many royal fans may argue the photo itself is a tribute to the King’s late mother, who was often pictured reviewing documents from the red box.
The Royal Family’s official Instagram account wrote: ‘The Red Box contains papers from government ministers in the UK and the Realms and from representatives from the Commonwealth and beyond.
‘The documents are sent from the Private Secretary’s Office to The King, wherever he may be in residence, in a locked red dispatch box.
‘Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth received Red Boxes, which were made upon her Coronation in 1952, almost every day of her reign, including weekends and holidays, but excluding Christmas Day.’
In almost every photo of Her late Majesty reviewing the documents, she is pictured candidly as she carefully reads through the briefing.
However 2022, which marked Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee year, saw a change in the late monarch’s red box photo. Taken at the Sandringham Estate in February, the Queen is pictured smiling into the camera next to the Red Box, and wearing a light green outfit.
Meghan’s aides branded her a ‘narcissistic sociopath’ over her demanding behaviour – and gave themselves the name ‘Sussex Survivors Club’, new book claims
Ian Gallagher for the Mail On Sunday
Palace aides believed that the Duchess of Sussex was deliberately laying a ‘trail of evidence’ as she carefully plotted her departure from the Royal Family, a new book claims.
It alleges that her aides – who named themselves the ‘Sussex Survivors’ Club’ after Meghan and Harry quit their roles – called the Duchess a ‘narcissistic sociopath’.
Extracts of Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown by Valentine Low were published by The Sunday Times last night.
The book describes the Sussexes’ deteriorating relationship with their staff – a ‘succession of… decent people’ who had believed in Meghan and ‘would have done anything’ to help the couple succeed.
But it alleges that aides came to believe that Meghan’s departure was premeditated and that ‘one of [her] concerns was whether she was going to be able to make money for herself’.
One ex staff member told the author: ‘She wanted to be rejected, because she was obsessed with that narrative from day one.’
And sources said that her team reportedly said of her on repeated occasions: ‘We were played.’
Extracts from the new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown have revealed that Palace aides believed that the Duchess of Sussex was deliberately laying a ‘trail of evidence’ as she carefully plotted her departure from the Royal Family
Palace aides believed that the Duchess of Sussex was deliberately laying a ‘trail of evidence’ as she carefully plotted her departure from the Royal Family, a new book claims.
It alleges that her aides – who named themselves the ‘Sussex Survivors’ Club’ after Meghan and Harry quit their roles – called the Duchess a ‘narcissistic sociopath’.
Extracts of Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown by Valentine Low were published by The Sunday Times last night.
The book describes the Sussexes’ deteriorating relationship with their staff – a ‘succession of… decent people’ who had believed in Meghan and ‘would have done anything’ to help the couple succeed.
But it alleges that aides came to believe that Meghan’s departure was premeditated and that ‘one of [her] concerns was whether she was going to be able to make money for herself’.
One ex staff member told the author: ‘She wanted to be rejected, because she was obsessed with that narrative from day one.’
And sources said that her team reportedly said of her on repeated occasions: ‘We were played.’
Extracts claim that Ms Cohen, who had 17 years’ experience of working at the Palace, would frequently say to Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, and Clive Alderton, Charles’s private secretary, that if it all went wrong, the Palace needed evidence of the duty of care it had shown to Harry and Meghan.
The duty of care was crucial. ‘[Sam] was a broken record with them on that,’ said a source.
The book quotes a source saying that Ms Cohen was ‘bullied’ and that nothing she did was ever good enough for the couple. It is claimed a source once said: ‘Sam [Cohen] always made clear it was like working for a couple of teenagers. They were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable.’
The Duchess’s lawyers denied last year that Miss Cohen had been bullied, saying that the couple were always grateful for her support and dedication.
They have also long described such allegations as ‘massively inaccurate’ and that the Duchess has ‘absolutely denied’ bullying anyone.
While an inquiry launched by Buckingham Palace concluded that it would review how it handled bullying complaints, it did not say Meghan had actually bullied anyone.
According to the book, tensions were compounded by Harry and Meghan’s ‘deteriorating relationship with Alderton and Young’.
Royal biographer Robert Lacey, said: ‘Meghan came to perceive Young as the inflexible, bureaucratic figure who summed up what was [wrong] with the BP [Buckingham Palace] mentality, and the feeling was mutual. Young really came to dislike Meghan’s style.’
Harry was just as dismissive of the two senior courtiers as Meghan. An insider said: ‘He used to send them horrible emails. So rude.’
Their escape plans were laid amid the utmost secrecy.
The book says: ‘When Harry and Meghan went to Canada for their six-week break in November 2019… Meghan would not even tell their nanny, Lorren, where they were going.’
Meghan confided in a member of her staff the couple were not coming back, according to the book, but others did not find out until January 2020.
‘They found it hard to accept they were being dumped…’ says the book. ‘Some of them were in tears.’