With less than 24 hours until Charles III is officially crowned King, let’s take a look back at some of his wildest and most outrageous scandals.
The ‘Black Spider’ Memos
A stash of secret letters between Charles and senior British government ministers, sent in 2004 and 2005, were made public in 2015, appearing to show the royal making policy demands to the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair on everything from the Iraq War to alternative therapies.
The leaked memos – dubbed the black spider memos, because of Charles’ scrawled handwriting – raised eyebrows as the royals are expected to remain neutral on politics.
Tampongate
In January 1993, a secretly recorded phone conversation between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles – which took place in 1989 when they were still married to their respective spouses – was leaked, in which he famously mused he wanted to “live inside” her trousers and come back as “a Tampax“.
The explicit conversation and ensuing scandal harmed the future monarch’s reputation almost beyond repair. “His popularity plummeted, and people questioned his fitness to be king,” says royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith.
Charles (L) and Camilla first met in 1970.
(Image: Getty)Forbidden Tipple
When a 14-year-old Charles was overheard by a journalist ordering a cherry brandy at a pub, Buckingham Palace initially denied the report.
But when the story was revealed to be true, the young prince found himself – and his taste for sweet alcoholic drinks – headline news.
His bodyguard lost his job, while Charles later said of the scandal, “I thought it was the end of the world.”
Cash For Honours
In February 2022, British police launched an investigation into Charles’ charity, The Prince’s Trust, after Michael Fawcett, a long-time aide to Charles, helped to secure the prince’s support for Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz to receive a knighthood and British citizenship in return for donations of more than $2 million.
The royal denied any wrongdoing but Michael stepped down – and later resigned – as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation following the scandal.
The boy loved a bevvy!
(Image: Getty)Bombshell Confession
Charles confessed to his affair with Camilla for the first time during an explosive 1994 TV documentary.
When asked if he had been unfaithful to Princess Diana, Charles admitted he had been faithful “until [the marriage] became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried”.
The following year, Diana responded with her own side of the story during her infamous Panorama interview, in which she claimed there were “three people in [her] marriage.”
Historic Divorce
After months of rumours, British Prime Minister John Major announced in December 1992 that Charles and Diana had separated.
While the palace insisted there was no third party involved, Charles had long been linked to Camilla Parker Bowles while Diana’s involvement with friend James Gilbey raised eyebrows.
The couple continued their public duties together until the Queen wrote to both in 1995, urging them to officially divorce, which they did in August 1996, just a year before Diana’s death.
The couple married in 1981.
(Image: Getty)Forged Paintings
In 2019, Charles was left red-faced when it was revealed several paintings hanging in his stately home – which were loaned to him by businessman James Stunt – were fakes.
A $74 million Monet masterpiece, it transpired, was painted by an American forger and not the French impressionist.
Other artworks were also found to be counterfeits that hung at Dumfries House, headquarters to The Prince’s Foundation. A spokesman for Charles said the mistake was “extremely regrettable”.
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