King Charles Warned That He Now Has to Do What Princess Diana Said He Would Have Trouble Doing Every Single Day
Upon Queen Elizabeth II’s death, her eldest son succeeded her and became King Charles III. While he had been preparing to become the monarch most of his life, there is one thing he has to do every single day now that his late ex-wife, Princess Diana, said she wasn’t sure he could adapt to.
Princess Diana’s thoughts about Charles being king
Some of Princess Diana’s confidants have said that she never thought Charles would be or should be Britain’s monarch. Diana spoke about that publicly during her infamous Panorama interview with Martin Bashir when he asked what her feelings were on Charles one day taking on the role of king.
“There was always conflict on that subject with him when we discussed it,” the princess, who was separated from Charles at the time, responded. “And I understood that conflict because it’s a very demanding role — being the Prince of Wales — but it’s an equally more demanding role being king.”
Diana added: “Being Prince of Wales produces more freedom now and being king would be a little bit more suffocating. And because I know the character, I would think that the top job, as I call it, would bring enormous limitations to him and I don’t know whether he could adapt to that.”
Ex-royal employee says King Charles now has to do this every single day the rest of his life
Paul Burrell began working for the royal family when he was 18 years old and became one of Queen Elizabeth’s personal footmen. In 1987, he was moved to the household of then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Following their separation, he remained the princess’s butler until her death in 1997.
Burrell recently discussed Diana’s comments in the Panorama interview now that Charles is the monarch and has to work every single day, even if he is on holiday or wants to take a break.
Speaking on behalf of Slingo, the former royal butler said: “Diana always thought that Charles [who] loved going to Italy and France and touring and doing his own thing, she realized so long ago that when he became king, he wouldn’t be able to do as much as he wanted and that he would be constrained. His duties would stop him from doing all the things that he loves.
“I’ve been thinking about this very carefully because the king is going to find it very different this year because now he’s a monarch and things have changed. Last year, he could do what he wanted, go wherever he wanted to go, and didn’t have any constraints, but this year he’s monarch and he will have to, wherever he is, receive his government red box every single day, the way the queen did all her life.”
Burrell continued: “I think he’s going to find that difficult because now he has to work, to some degree, every single day of the rest of his life. It’s a big shock when you’ve been waiting, a big shock for him when he’s been waiting for this job all his life and now he’s got it well, he’s chained to it. His summer holidays won’t be the same ever again, not like the rest of the royals. The minor royals can literally do what they want to do but not the king and not [Queen Camilla]. So their lives, they will find, have changed and their time isn’t their own.”
