King Charles is reportedly helping to make sure his grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis 'grow up in as normal a way as possible' so they can become 'fully rounded human beings who are unafraid of their emotions,' a royal expert has claimed.
- In a new documentary about the King's grandchildren, a royal expert has claimed that King Charles wants his grandchildren to 'grow up in as normal a way as possible' and become 'fully rounded human beings who are unafraid of their emotions.'
- The expert also said that he doesn't want them to 'make the mistakes that he feels he made, particularly when it came to matters of the heart."
- In other royal news, Kate Middleton’s ‘radical new way of parenting’ has taught Prince William ‘how to be a different kind of parent’.
King Charles has long been said to be a 'doting' grandparent, displaying 'genuine warmth' as he interacts with the youngest members of his family and warming the hearts of royal fans across the globe.
But as well as showing them affection, according to one royal expert, the King is taking care to ensure his grandchildren "grow up in as normal a way as possible" so they can all avoid making the "same mistakes he made."
Chandrika Kaul, who is a Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews, shared how he believes the King is helping to raise Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a new documentary The Fab Five: The King's Grandchildren, which premiered on Channel 5 on Sunday night (21 May.)
The documentary detailed Charles' relationships with Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, who turned eight just before the Coronation, Prince Louis, five, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, who will turn three next month.
During the programme, Professor Kaul said, "I think King Charles is very keen that his grandchildren don't make the mistakes that I think he feels he made, particularly when it came to matters of the heart."
She added, "What I think he wants to do is try and help these young grandchildren grow up in as normal a way as possible and create more fully rounded human beings who are unafraid of their emotions and who are able to have the confidence to marry whom they want. And to have a happy, successful and fulfilled personal life."
The experts comments refer to King Charles' biggest scandal that saw the then Prince make headlines worldwide as he admitted he had been unfaithful to his first wife Princess Diana with the now Queen Camilla.
In 1994, interviewer Jonathan Dimbleby asked Charles if he had been "faithful and honourable" to Princess Diana, to which the Prince replied "Yes. Until [the marriage] became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried."
It has since been reported that Charles never wanted to marry Diana but was pressured to leave his true love, Camilla, and marry someone more suited to royal life. In ITV's 2020 documentary The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess, Penny Thornton, an astrologer Diana consulted, said, "One of the most shocking things that Diana told me was that the night before the wedding, Charles told her that he didn't love her. I think Charles didn't want to go into the wedding on a false premise. He wanted to square it with her, and it was devastating for Diana."
Elsewhere in the channel 5 documentary, the Scottish Broadcaster and political commentator Ayesha Hazarika explained how Charles ensures his grandchildren feel valued for who they are personally and not for just their positions in the royal line of succession. She said, "Charles, as a good grandfather, will have to explain to the other two that they're not just spares, they're not just surplus to requirement."
His tactics appear to be working, with the editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward described Princess Charlotte's "absolute terrific personality". She said, "She's brave, she's quite forceful, she certainly lords it up over her older brother."
5News' royal correspondent Simon Vigar echoed the sentiment, adding that Charlotte is 'changing' the idea of 'the spare' and 'ordering George around.' He explained, "I remember George being quite bossy but I think the dynamic's changed. Recently during public events, we've seen Charlotte taking charge and ordering George around."
