This is the story of an extraordinary life. Get this on camera. Like you’ve never seen it before. Told exclusively through archive footage. Witness the drama. She missed the only the scandal. Diana was just a child when they met each other. Now she’s grown up. found her own interests, her own friends, her own job. She doesn’t need him anymore.
Come right out, please. Come right out. The heartache. You could see a terrible, terrible accident. My god, it’s a woman. She was the people’s princess. And that’s how she will stay, how she will remain. Charles is in a no-win situation. If he shows emotion, uh, people will call him a hypocrite.
If he doesn’t, they’ll call him a monster. The passion. And if he wants to remarry, he should give up all thought of being king. As we reveal the man born to be king, Charles II, by the grace of God, king. God saved the king. The 1st of July 1969. As day broke, the excitement was building in anticipation of the investature of the Prince of Wales.
I feel that it is a very impressive ceremony. Um I know perhaps some people would think that uh it is rather anacronistic and out of place in in this world which is perhaps uh somewhat cynical, but um I think it it can mean quite a lot if one goes about it in the right way. Charles Phillip Arthur George, the 21st Prince of Wales, drives through the streets of ancient Canavan for his investigation.
For me, it’s a way of um officially dedicating one’s life or or part of one’s life to Wales and the Welsh people after all wanted it. But not everyone wanted it. The investature had drawn criticism from some as being a symbol of centuries long English occupation of Wales. As the royal family traveled to Kamaran Castle, a few eggs were thrown, but of far more concern was the threat of people prepared to use violence to make their point.
A huge security operation patrolled the streets. But as Charles made his way through the crowds, intelligence had reached them that a sniper might try to take aim at the prince. Only the night before, two members of a Welsh nationalist movement had died planting a bomb, so vigilance was high. As Charles entered the castle wearing a bulletproof vest, he knew the eyes of the world were on him.
This ceremony, formerly making him the Prince of Wales, was being watched by more than 500 million people worldwide. a new coronet, elaborate robes and regalia had been designed for the prince. And in a piece of glorious royal theater, Charles pledged his allegiance to the queen. I, Charles, Prince of Wales, to become your lege man of life and limb.
As the investature ended, Charles heard an explosion. When the Welsh secretary told him it was just a royal salute, the prince replied that it was a most peculiar one. As it turned out, the sound was that of another bomb. This time exploding in a police officer’s garden. Despite all these threats, most Welsh people supported the investature taking place and many thousands came to watch the procession.
And what does this all mean? Is it just an out-of-date, meaningless formality, or has something important happened here? The answer must lie in the hearts of the prince and the people of Wales. But who was this young prince and how did he get here? Here is the first picture of his royal highness, Prince Charles of Edinburgh, second in the line of succession, just 4 weeks old.
The death of Charles’s grandfather, King George V 6th, in 1952 saw his mother become queen far earlier than anyone had imagined. seen here stood between his grandmother and aunt at the coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Charles was now heir to the throne, aged just 4 years old. He was beginning to realize why his mother had been tucking him in at night, wearing a crown on her head.
Although he soon grew bored of the three-hour event, one day this would all be his, and his apprenticeship started here. After the coronation, Charles’s parents embarked on a Commonwealth tour that would last over 6 months, leaving Charles and his sister behind. It was during this time that Charles grew increasingly close to the Queen Mother.
Ever since I was a child, I adored her. And for me, she meant everything. Wise, loving, with an utterly irresistible mischievousness of spirit. She was quite simply the most magical grandmother you could possibly have. and I was utterly devoted to them. Upon seeing the children again, the queen said, “They were terribly polite, but I don’t think they really knew who we were.
” Charles’s school years were not happy ones. After primary school, Prince Philillip wanted his son to go to his old school, Gordonston, a remote school in northeast Scotland. The Queen Mother disagreed, arguing that Charles would be terribly cut off and lonely in the far north. But Prince Phillip won the day.
Gordonston, as Prince Charles arrives with his father, the school’s most famous old boy. Remember how you felt when you started? In a letter sent home, Charles wrote, “It’s such hell here. They throw slippers all night long or hit me with pillows or rush across the room and hit me as hard as they can.
I still wish I could come home. It’s such a hole, this place.” “He was crushingly lonely,” recalled a fellow student years later. “The wonder is that he survived with his sanity intact. At 17, Charles interrupted his time at Gordon’s Tune to experience school life in Australia. Timber was the outback branch of Gilong Grammar School in Melbourne.
Charles found life much more bearable in Australia where he was treated just like any other student. Although he described the experience as like being thrown to the lions, Charles found it made a huge difference to his development. He became much more independent and much more confident in himself. He was able to talk to people freely and even made friends.
To mark the birthday of her majesty the queen, we were invited to Windsor Castle to take some celebration pictures. Obviously, it’s not all honey being royalty, and the early carefree years of childhood pass all too quickly. And if you’re heir to the throne, responsibilities loom pretty large pretty soon.
Following the completion of his degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles spent six years in the armed forces. He thrived in the military environment, but was not your usual cadet. Charles had already received flying lessons during his second year at university, earning a private pilot’s license and giving him a head start on the rest of his colleagues.
Many saw the time Charles spent serving as a little artificial. His training was rushed. He was kept away from any active theater of war, and he was given special leave to fulfill his royal obligations. However, the experience did allow Charles to break free from his usual royal circles and mingle with people from different walks of life which would prove valuable later on.
New Delhi, the seat of the government of India. Visiting India informally, Prince Charles arrives at Palam airport accompanying the prince Lord Louis Mountbatton of Burma. Lord Louie as India’s last viceroy presided over the transfer of power from the British Raj to the people of India. He confessed later to pressmen it was quite an emotional experience but Prince Charles could have found no better guide.
Charles had great affection for Lord Mountbatton and called him his honorary grandfather. His greatuncle acted as a matchmaker in bringing Charles’s parents together many years earlier and was now intent on counseling Charles on his love life too. His old-fashioned advice to Charles was that he should sew his wild oats before settling down to marry a virgin.
He also warned him against marrying a woman with a past that the media could dig up. On a visit to Brazil, the press photographers could not believe their luck when Charles, hesitantly at first, took to the floor in true Rio Carnival style. The burning question in every loyal heart is when will the prince marry? Great conjecture had already been shown over when and who he was likely to marry. Often it was headline news.
Rumors were rife. Coming for lunch. No, I’m buying my own lunch tonight. Are you On the 27th of August 1979, Lord Mountbatton was killed when a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded on board a fishing boat in Ireland. His confidant now gone, a devastated 30-year-old Charles was now facing mounting pressure over who would be his future wife.
As speculation grew and with the clock now ticking, the prince would now face this next crucial chapter in his life. Alone. Dubbed the Playboy prince by the press, Charles was now one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. He had a string of relationships, but the one that had press photographers falling over themselves for a front page picture was Lady Diana.
On the 24th of February 1981, from Buckingham Palace came the news that the whole world had been waiting for. The heir to the throne presented his beautiful bride to be. Lady Diana Francis Spencer, the third daughter of the eighth Earl Spencer. Prince Charles will be 32 years old and Lady Diana 20 on their wedding day.
Diana was from an aristocratic family, had no ex-boyfriends or scandal lurking in her past, and was everything that the royal family had been hoping for in a match for Charles. According to Diana, Charles leapt on her after she told him how sad she had felt watching him walk in the procession at Lord Mountbatton’s funeral in 1979.
Prince Charles takes the salute at Windsor amid the kind of pageantry for which Britain’s famous. There’ll be a whole lot more, of course, in the prince’s wedding. Lady Dye has handled the glare of publicity with a natural ease. And it’s not just Charles who is delighted. From the very beginning, the British public warmed to Lady Diana’s shy manners and natural way.
And as the wedding grew nearer, the eyes of the world were on the United Kingdom in what were troubled times for the country. July 1981 and English cities burn. The current wave of rioting hasn’t been equaled in modern times. The public is shocked. So are the politicians and the police.
Despite the gloom of recession, unemployment, riots, and an indifferent English summer, the flags go up for the July celebration. For all, it’s hoped it will be a time of unity for a troubled nation. As if by royal appointment, the weather on the great day is perfect, giving London a touch of summer magic. From Buckingham Palace, a semi-state landau carries the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to St.
Paul’s Cathedral for the wedding of their much-loved son, the Prince of Wales. And now, the hero of the hour. Beneath the pomp and titles, a nice rather nervous young man on the most tender and important journey of his life. An escort of mounted police wait for Lady Diana at Clan’s house. Though still a commoner, the pretty English girl will be transformed into the third lady of the realm, Princess of Wales.
Prince Charles makes his way down the aisle. The world gets its first full glimpse of the fairy tale princess demure behind her veil and the wedding dress that has been a carefully guarded secret. Respplendant ivory silk taveta trimmed with antique lace in a long long train. All 25 ft hand embroidered as bewitching and romantic a bride has ever touched the heart of the world.
On her father’s arm, Lady Diana Spencer sets off to join the prince of her heart. 750 million people around the world were transfixed to this extraordinary spectacle. Much to Diana’s irritation, Charles had invited some of his former girlfriends to the wedding, including Camila Parker BS. Despite this, Diana later said she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
And when Charles whispered, “You look beautiful.” As she reached the altar, she replied, “Beautiful for you. I pronounce that they be man and wife together. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” For Diana, life would never be the same again. The couple were hoping to start a family as soon as possible, and it took no time at all for Diana to become pregnant.
The princess was in labor for 16 grueling hours, supported by a nervous child, the first royal father to be present at the birth of his child. Although delighted to be a mother, Diana suffered from postnatal depression and was becoming anxious about her marriage. Diana was a former nanny and kindergarten teacher and had very definite ideas about how she wanted her son to be raised.
It seemed to Diana that Charles had been traumatized by his sad and lonely upbringing as his rank had stopped him from making many friends. Diana was determined that William would not suffer the same fate. Although playing happy families for the cameras, all was not well and Charles’s relationship with Camila Parker BS was a growing concern for Diana.
Even the arrival of their second son, Prince Harry, couldn’t paper over the cracks in their marriage. But as she became more and more disillusioned with Charles, Diana was beginning to find her feet on the world stage. Wherever they went, Charles was now second best. The crowds didn’t come to see him. They came to see Diana.
The photographers didn’t follow him. They followed Diana. This wasn’t what Charles had expected. As time went on, the marriage fell apart without so much of a hint of a happy ever after. In December 1992, the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales was officially announced to the nation. As the pair battled it out, it became known as the War of the Waleses.
A tit fortat series of scandalous tell- all books and interviews twisted the knife even further into their doomed relationship with admissions of infidelity on both sides. It was inevitable. There’s massive age gap between them. They’re very different people really. Diana was just a child, wasn’t she, when they met each other.
and um now she’s grown up, found her own interests, her own friends, her own job. She doesn’t need him anymore. The couple were now on the road to divorce, and Diana was gaining popularity as an ambassador for her chosen causes, most notably through her groundbreaking support for AIDS victims and when she traveled to Angola to campaign for the removal of landmines.
Meanwhile, Charles continued the work of the royal family solo and found that he sometimes still had to share the limelight with popular visitors. But on a visit to Australia, he might have wished to have been less visible. He had questioned to the Lon. He would have got the prince. He missed the nearly missed the press.
It turned out to be blank shots. But back home, Charles was still coming under fire from the gutter press and the public were lapping it up. Think that a particularly unhappy couple. Uh, their children must be having a bloody awful time with it. I think they need to sort themselves out. The queen decided to write to both the Prince of Wales, her son, and the Princess of Wales, indicating her desire for an early divorce.
Something had to be done, and something had to be done quickly. Neither the prince or the princess were willing to act. Uh there was a kind of stalemate between them. The princess certainly didn’t want to act because she had an awful lot to lose in terms of her custody and access to the boys. And the prince did not want to be cast as the bad boy by seeking a divorce himself.
We’ve had a king who was divorced, George I. And just to make sure he kept his wife Sophia Doratha in life imprisonment and I’m sure at this moment Charles is spying out a particularly damp basement at Sandringham to do just that. Never seen Diana the way she is. Very different, very new, very refreshing.
It’s very relaxed. Um and she just looks stress free. Once divorced, the press intrusion into Diana’s life escalated further and the paparazzi followed her everywhere, stopping at nothing in their pursuit of a photograph. By 1997, Diana had frequently been seen in the company of Dodie Fied, the playboy son of Harrod’s owner Muhammad Alied, and the world’s press obsessed over the pair all summer with endless front page headlines.
I think she’s a very classy lady, and I just wish the media and the tabloids would leave her alone a little bit. She’s trying to get on with life, and it’s very, very difficult for her. At the end of August, Dodie and Diana were staying at the Ritz in Paris, but it seemed like every press photographer in all of France was lying in wait for them.
And the pair decided to get away from the hotel. They set off at midnight, and as the car sped away, they were pursued by a swarm of paparazzi. When news of a car crash involving Princess Diana first broke at around 1:00 a.m., It was reported that her companion, Dodie Fied, had died, but that the princess wasn’t badly injured. But as time went on, it became increasingly clear that her condition was much worse than first realized.
Hundreds of miles away, Prince Charles had been told of the accident and was waiting anxiously for more information. Then came the news that he had dreaded. Diana was dead. Charles spent the next few hours worrying about how to tell William and Harry. The next day, the outpouring of public grief began and details of what had happened started to emerge.
There were motorcycles and a couple of cars seemed to be parked along the inside wall. And then when we got nearer, you could see a terrible, terrible accident that had happened. My god, it’s a woman. Very slumped over. And how close were the photographers? Right up to the window. They couldn’t get any closer.
There were photographers like all over the place. Literally uh as close as one could get to uh to the outside exterior of the car to take effective interior pictures. We we just didn’t understand why are there so many photographers. We are today a nation in Britain in a state of shock, in mourning, in grief that is so deeply painful for us.
She was the people’s princess and that’s how she will stay, how she will remain in our hearts and in our memories forever. For many, there was no doubt where the blame for Diana’s death lay. I always believed the press would kill her in the end, but not even I could imagine that they would take such a direct hand in her death as seems to be the case.
It would appear that every proprietor and editor of every publication that has paid for intrusive and exploitative photographs of her encouraging greedy and ruthless individuals to risk everything in pursuit of Diana’s image has blood on his hands today. They’re not harassing anybody here. They’re just standing here. Horrible.
Horrible. It’s you press that killed her. You’re the scum. I blame the Sun newspaper. Charles is in a no-win situation on Saturday. If he shows emotion, uh people will call him a hypocrite. If he doesn’t, they’ll call him a monster. Uh all of this, especially if William takes a prominent role and and he is the focus of Saturday, which would be appropriate, all of this to me makes it more and more likely that Charles is an impossible situation and will eventually have to step aside for William.
Many condemned the royal family’s lack of response, prompting the Queen’s press secretary to release a statement that said, “Although the Princess was a muchloved national figure, she was also a mother whose sons miss her deeply. Prince William and Prince Harry want to be with their father and their grandparents at this time in the quiet haven of Balmoral.
The prince’s returned to London with their father the day before their mother’s funeral and were thrown into the unprecedented public reaction to Diana’s death. William, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Her body was still lying in the chapel at St. James’s Palace where they privately went to see her.
It’s very upsetting. She didn’t deserve this. The following morning, to the surprise and shock of many, William and Harry joined the funeral procession and proceeded to walk behind the coffin as it slowly made its way to Westminster Abbey. She was like a pinnacle. Everybody looked up to her. Everybody admired her.
Just a sad sad loss. and she was cut off in the prime of her life. It’s just a tragedy. She’s been a great ambassador to this country and there will never be anyone like her again. For the public, the death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, marked the terrible and dramatic end of a muchloved public figure.
For Charles, he was now tasked with bringing up the boys alone. I also wanted to say how particularly moved and uh enormously comforted my children and I were and indeed still are by um the public response to to Diana’s death. It has been really quite remarkable and indeed in many ways overwhelming. It is inevitably very difficult to to cope with grief at at any time.
It’s even harder when the whole world uh is watching at the same time. I’m I’m uh unbelievably proud of the the children of William and Harry. They’ve been quite remarkable. Uh and I think they’ve handled an extraordinarily difficult time with quite enormous courage. But obviously the town’s loss has been an enormous loss as far as they’re concerned and will always um feel that loss.
For Charles, trying to repair his damaged reputation following his affair with Camila Parker BS was proving an uphill task. I think it’ll be 8 or 10 years before he recovers from uh the unpopularity that he’s now going through. And I think the House of Winds can put their fingers together and just hope that the Queen lives for some time yet because time will heal a number of things.
But he’s a dam he’s damaged goods at the moment. But despite his fraught relationship with the press, Charles still tried to keep the newspapers on side. They do this in return really for a quiet summer. They hope that if they give this so-called official photo call, first of its kind at H Highrove, then they’ll be left alone to have a quiet uh relatively quiet time.
I know. I’m shaking too. William, I think stood up to it quite well. He doesn’t like the cameras at the best of time. He looked fairly confident, smiling a lot and looking at the lenses, which makes a big difference. Charles taking a leaf out of Diana’s book. sought to make himself more popular with the public for good or for bad.
In 1999, 2 years after Diana’s death, Charles went public with the worstkept secret in town and put his relationship with Camila Parker BS in full view at a party at the Ritz. He planned this himself. Um, it was his idea. He decided enough was enough. Uh, you know, they’re fed up sneaking around and tonight was a night.
the polls are beginning to look up and I think generally I thought this is exactly the right time you know for them to appear together. Don’t think they’re going to have to be so fertive and look everywhere they go every time they go to visit friends wonder who’s hiding in the bushes. I think the pressure’s off there. The only question now was would the public accept the news? When Charles and Camila finally went public with their relationship, it became the talk of the town.
Well, I think everyone knew everyone knew they were together anyway as a couple. I mean, and good luck to him. It’s up to him, but I wouldn’t like her to be a a future queen. I wouldn’t think it’s right. I think it’s a wonderful idea. I think he deserves a an attractive, intelligent woman, and I think that’s what she is.
Well, if he wants to remarry, he should give up all thought of being king. Boots on my car. Get this on camera. He forgot your boots. Oh my god. That’s another classic. Yeah, you borrow my ones at Marcus. For years, the tabloids had painted Camila as a home wrecker who had ruined the lives of William and Harry.
The scandal sold newspapers, but opposition to Camila began to wne as the nation healed from the death of Diana. Might just make a nuisance of myself. A nuisance of yourself? Yes. That’s not very difficult, is it? Well, it’s hereditary. So, touche bluff and double bluff, isn’t it? Well, I’m well surprised you score a goal, actually.
So, surprised. Yeah. Well, I can do it even at my advanced stage of decrepitude. You’re very good. As time went on, rumors became rife about a possible royal engagement between Charles and Camila. And Charles had to ensure he had his boys on his side publicly, even if not privately. Prince Harry Prince Harry shoots and it’s two years a piece.
Is this your method of recovery? Is it? No, it’s a bit puffish. I’m really shoving a banana in your face. It’s healthy. In February 2005, after years of speculation, it was announced that Charles and Camila would marry. I don’t think he should pay any attention to what everyone else is saying.
It’s his private business, really, isn’t it? I don’t see why not. He’s entitled to get on with his life, and he No, I think it’s good. If Charles is happy, then uh he should be happy. He should be left to enjoy himself. How you feeling? How you feeling, ma’am? Just I’m just coming down to work. And so it was that on Saturday the 9th of April 2005, Charles and Camila were finally married 34 years after they first met.
They opted for a royal wedding unlike any before. A civil ceremony followed by a special service of blessing at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Only 28 people were invited to the intimate ceremony. Prince William and Tom Parker BS, Camila’s son, served as witnesses. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were noticeable by their absence.
At the reception, Charles toasted and thanked his new bride, who he described as having stood with me through thick and thin, and whose optimism and humor have seen me through. Now accompanied by his wife, Charles continued to tour the world and speak about passions close to his heart. Prince Charles strongly in support of organic agriculture and believes in global warming.
Our president does not believe in global warming apparently. Prince Charles, he he just likes the unusual. He’s into organics and this is the place to come. I think what Prince Charles would like to be remembered for is his often extremely lonely crusades um on things like brutalist architecture, organic farming that when he started banging on, as he would put it, on these issues, he was ridiculed.
He was called the potty prince. Um now these issues are mainstream. Since his youth, Charles has been committed to environmental issues. Once seen as an eccentric, today his dedication has proved to be wellplaced with views way ahead of their time. The race in which we are all engaged now is to restore harmony to the forces of nature unleashed by climate change and so ensure our very ability to survive.
As Charles’s marriage with Camila continued to be accepted by the public, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton made him a grandfather for the first time with the birth of Prince George. But it was his relationship with Prince Harry that made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Harry and his wife Meghan Markle stepped away from their royal duties and filmed an explosive television interview with Oprah Winfrey, bringing into question the entire integrity of the royal family.
Following the death of his father, Prince Phillip, in April 2021, Prince Charles took on a more significant and active role in preparation for becoming king. We’ll be looking at trees. Good morning, your majesty. Hello. For the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Charles and his mother started a planter tree for the Jubilee Initiative.
In commemoration of 70 years of the Queen’s reign, the longest of any monarch in history, but it’s huge. I shall look at it in the car when I on my way down to Edinburgh. As her glittering era drew to a close, the nation began to ask what the future might hold for the royal family. Late in the afternoon on the 8th of September, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle.
As the world mourned her departure, all eyes turned to Charles, her son and successor, who had been at his mother’s bedside during the final hours of her life and now succeeded to the throne. She was a wonderful ambassador for our country. She was such an example to every single one of us. She was dignified. She was just she was beautiful inside and out and I’ve known her all of my life and I miss her very much.
After an apprenticeship that began as a child, Charles embodies the modernization of the British monarchy. He was the first heir not to be educated at home, the first to earn a university degree, and also the first to grow up in the glare of the media. Now, in the autumn of his life, Charles must endear himself to the British public in the same way that Queen Elizabeth did. Easier said than done.
We do now hereby proclaim that the Prince Charles Phillip Arthur George is now by the death of our late sovereign happy of memory become our only lawful and rightful leader. Each Lord Charles III by the grace of God king God save the king. It’s just nice to see the new king today and obviously there’s going to be a lot of change that’s coming.
So it’s it’s quite exciting. Very exciting. Tell you what was amazing was this pub here. Silent listening to every word he said. I Which is the right which is right and fabulous. He’s our king. God saver king. I think this responsibility is going to weigh heavy on him, not to let his mother down, to respect and build on um what she’s done, her legacy.
My mom’s first thing was, you know, Charles can never replace her, you know, and that makes sense. Prince Charles is someone who has quite progressive views about, you know, culture, about the environment, about our communities. um I think quite a supporter of a more multicultural Britain.
So I think you know what he says and how he rules will be viewed with a lot of interest and support. Charles now finds himself not only head of state but head of the most famous family on the planet with all of its ups and downs. The crown that Charles has inherited is altogether different to the one that the queen took in 1952. But this is what he has been preparing for his entire life.
