Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly bullied Prince Charles when they were teenagers.
And shortly after Princess Diana’s death, Prince Charles struggled because he didn’t really know how to handle his boys by himself.
In an article for Daily Mail, royal correspondent Richard Kay also revealed that there were times when Prince William deliberately tried to outshine Prince Charles.
And because Prince Charles’ main focus was on his work rather than his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly saw him as weak. And since he’s weak, the royal siblings would sometimes exploit their dad.
According to Kay, Prince William and Prince Harry saw their dad as a fuddy-duddy, and they regarded him with affectionate ridicule.
At times, the siblings refused to defer to their dad’s diary of engagements even though they know how important it is. And the busier Prince Charles is, the more likely would Prince William and Prince Harry make huge announcements.
Prince Charles reportedly hated being upstaged even by his sons. So, moments like these left him feeling angry and hurt. However, he just didn’t say anything.
In the documentary The Queen and Prince Charles: Mother and Son, royal commentator Julie Montagu acknowledged the fact that Prince Charles struggled a lot when he became a single parent. Shortly after his divorce from Princess Diana, the latter died in a car crash.
And while the Princess of Wales was still alive, Prince Charles left the majority of parenting to his ex-wife. But following her death, Prince Charles stepped up to the plate and became a very hands-on parent to Prince William and Prince Harry.
Grant Harrold, a former royal butler for the British clan, described Prince Charles as a considerate father. He also said that Prince Charles is a fantastic parent because he’s caring and loving.
Prince Charles’ parenting style was reportedly inspired by the Queen Mother, who he was very close to. While the Queen Mother was still alive, she spent a lot of time with Prince Charles.
As such, Prince Charles felt emotionally distant from his own mother because Queen Elizabeth was always away on tours. It was the Queen Mother that became his mother figure.
So, when his grandmother passed away in 2002, Prince Charles couldn’t hide his sadness. He released a statement saying that the Queen Mother meant everything to him.
He also said that there’s a part of him that never thought his grandmother’s death would ever come. After all, the Queen Mother seemed glorious and unstoppable.
But according to the statement released by Buckingham Palace, the Queen Mother grew frail after suffering from colds and chest infection over the holidays 18 years ago.