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King Charles III and the establishment he now leads is at a “very dangerous point” in its history amid the attacks levelled at the Firm by his youngest son, Prince Harry. That’s the verdict of author and historian Andrew Lownie, who believes that Charles may face a breakdown in the fabric of the monarchy if the crisis is not suitably handled.
The relationship between Harry and his father Charles’ relationship appeared at rock bottom earlier this month after the release of the Duke’s bombshell memoir, Spare, a personal account of the former frontline royal’s life with no details spared.
It offered an insight into the world of pomp and ceremony which had become his life for the best part of four decades, until he and his wife, Meghan Markle, made the landmark decision to quit their duties and move across the pond.
The content within its 416 pages shocked and infuriated many, taking aim at the likes of Harry’s eldest brother Prince William, and Charles’ wife Queen Camilla, describing their relationships in intimate detail.
And for Mr Lownie, who authored the 2021 book Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, about the abdication of Edward VIII to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the ongoing fallout may well threaten Charles’ position in history.
Among the lowlights the author included in his assessment was Edward’s abdication in 1936, the so-called annus horribilis of 1992, when Charles’ late mother the Queen described the heartbreak of three of her children seeing their marriages end in divorce, and 1995’s BBC Newsnight scandal, which saw the late Princess Diana go into forensic detail about her relationship to the future king.
Yet, in 2023, “here are senior members of the Royal Family trying to destroy, or they would say reform, the institution itself”, Mr Lownie said.
He continued: “Given the transition from the Queen to Charles was always going to be difficult this is a very dangerous point in Royal history which could be catastrophic if not handled properly.
“The Royal Family are between a rock and a hard place, damned if they do [respond to Harry’s accusations], damned if they don’t. Tensions need to be de-escalated.”
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According to an Ipsos Mori poll, which surveyed 1,000 adults between January 10 and 11, the likes of William, his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and the disgraced Prince Andrew, had all seen their popularity slump.
Spare’s publisher, Penguin Random House, claims it has become the “fastest-selling non-fiction book” of all time, with some 400,000 copies being snapped up across hardback, e-book and audio formats on its first day of publication.
Such was the damage caused by his words, it is unclear if there would be any chance for the rift to be healed between Charles and Harry any time soon.
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Speaking on GB News, she suggested that “a lot of us in the UK, and I mean a lot, really don’t want them here at all”, adding: “Because you can’t trust them, and they will report everything or do another documentary about it or another book and look for all the negative.
“Or they’ll just take attention away from King Charles. This is his moment; this is what he’s waited for since he was a little boy and watched his mummy in 1953. And he deserves to have the full attention of everybody around the world.”
Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor was published by Blink Publishing and is available here.
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