Prince Charles: four claims in his unauthorised biography
Book alleges the royal travels with his own luxury loo roll, complains after flying Club Class and shrieks at the sight of cling film

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
An unauthorised biography of Prince Charles depicts him as an overly pampered royal who struggles to overcome his unpopularity.
Written by investigative journalist Tom Bower, The Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion and Defiance of Prince Charles includes some incendiary claims about the heir to the throne.
“This book is the story of Prince Charles’s battle for rehabilitation after Diana’s death, and his refusal to obey the public’s expectations of a future king,” the author writes in his preface.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bower, who has written unauthorised biographies of Tony Blair and Richard Branson, claims to have interviewed more than 120 people as part of his research.
Clarence House says it will not be commenting on any of the allegations made in the book.
The much-publicised biography is “tailor-made to fuel republican ire and royalist outrage while at the same time leaving House of Windsor watchers of any stripe salivating over a veritable state banquet of telling anecdote and revealing foibles,” Cahal Milmo writes for i news.
Below is a selection of some of the more colourful claims made about the Prince:
He’s a lavish spender, even by royal standards
Bower alleges that Prince Charles once travelled on the royal train from Highgrove House, his family residence in Gloucestershire, to Penrith in Cumbria so that he could go to a pub. The reported cost of the spur-of-the-moment jaunt? £18,916.
The 69-year-old royal is said to have complained in his journal about having to fly Club Class to Hong Kong in a chartered British Airways plane.
“It took me some time to realise … that this was not first class (!) although it puzzled me as to why the seat seemed so uncomfortable,” he reportedly wrote. “Such is the end of Empire, I sighed to myself.”
He likes his home comforts
When attending functions, the Prince reportedly brings along his own pre-mixed cocktails, which are carried by a police officer. On longer trips – like the time he visited a friend in North East England – he’s said to have taken luxury loo roll, a toilet seat, an orthopaedic mattress and two landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.
He cares about public opinion – a lot
The book paints a picture of a prince obsessed with how little the public thinks of him. It details one incident when Charles reportedly threw a dinner plate to the floor at a party when the issue came up.
Bower claims that the Prince is concerned that the public is more interested in William and Kate than in him. Bower also claims that the Prince frets over his future portrait on coins when he becomes Charles II, The Guardian reports.
He didn’t know what cling film was
After hosting a lunch at Clarence House one day, the Duchess of Cornwall is said to have told staff to leave the leftovers on the sideboard. Later on, Charles reportedly went on the hunt for some dinner.
“He walked into the dining room and shrieked,” the book reads. “Fearing the worst, Camilla dashed in after him. ‘What’s this?’ asked her husband, pointing at the food.
‘It’s cling film, darling,’ she replied.”
You can purchase the book from The Week Bookshop now
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Can HS2 get back on track?
Today's Big Question West Midlands mayor offers business solution to keep northern leg but final decision may rest with Labour
By The Week Staff Published
-
'A purported ban on phones in schools is a lazy sleight of hand'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily business briefing: October 3, 2023
Business Briefing Tesla sales slip despite price cuts, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testifies in Google antitrust trial, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
What does the royal family actually do?
feature From official state duties to charitable pursuits, most of the royals keep themselves busy
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
What would the UK be like without a monarchy?
Today's Big Question The British public still broadly favours the royals but support is waning among younger people
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet Published
-
Pros and cons of British colonial reparations
feature Should the U.K. be forced to pay for its historic subjugations?
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Coronation protests: did the Met overreact?
Talking Point 52 arrests were a ‘direct attack on freedom of speech’ said some commentators
By The Week Staff Published
-
The highlights and lowlights from King’s coronation weekend
feature Music, mischief and Penny Mordaunt widely praised, while Met Police arresting protesters provokes criticism
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Coronation countdown: a ‘tightrope’ for the royal family
Under the Radar Monarchy to balance celebration with awareness of the complex relationship between British subjects and their ruler
By The Week Staff Published
-
The ‘diplomat monarch’: will King’s coronation revitalise British soft power?
Today's Big Question Supporters say Charles is foreign relations asset but others question whether the newly crowned monarch can boost the UK’s influence
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Buckingham Palace arrest fuels coronation security fears
Speed Read Security minister outlines massive operation amid concerns about threats, protests and potential obsessives
By Harriet Marsden Published