King Charles' highs and lows as a teen – from bullied to becoming an eligible bachelor
06.10.2022 - 09:27
/ ok.co.uk
As a member of the royal family, you might presume that life is a breeze, but King Charles has let it be known in the past that his upbringing was far from easy. He was often lonely, bored and found it hard to make friends among his peers, coming from a life of immense privilege but stifling protocol. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe says, “Charles went through quite a harsh childhood and I don’t think he started off in life particularly well.
He was desperately unhappy at boarding school in Scotland, and his parents were archetype examples of the ‘stiff upper lip’ generation who’d both gone through a war. He had a tough upbringing in the lap of luxury.” Even though his mother had yet to ascend to the throne during the first four years of Charles’ life, she was still a distant parent. Ingrid Seward recounts in her book Prince Philip Revealed: A Man Of His Century that both his parents were busy elsewhere.
She writes, “The love of his mother and father was severely rationed. It had to be fitted in between their official duties... the emotional needs of the little prince were not always paramount on their agenda.” In fact, Philip, busy with navy duties, did not even attend his son’s birthday parties until he was four years old, while a young Princess Elizabeth was occupied with her official duties and filling in for her father, King George VI, whose health was in decline.
Charles was brought up by nannies, overseen by his grandmother, the-then Queen, who he said “taught me to look at things”. He was a quiet and sensitive child, prone to colds and very unlike his hardy and boisterous younger sister Anne, who arrived on the scene two years later, in 1950.The young children had to get used to life without their parents. In 1953,
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