Charles, Prince Of Change

The making of his monarchy

- Tony Powell

Prince Charles has always been a forward thinker, working out his points of view and desired outcomes and then sticking to them, regardless of what his family, critics or the public say.

“He looks at everything in terms of years and decades,” says an aide. “He always has. Once he’s made his mind up on something, he’s immovable. He says, ‘They’ll come round, they’ll agree with me one day.’

“By and large, that’s true – most opponents eventually support him.”

Or as Charles (71) himself puts it, “I’ve gone on regardless of the endless criticism and carping and shouting and screaming, because I’ve always believed in the long term.”

No matter if it’s ecology, climate change, organic farming, architecture, the structure of the economy or the future of the royal family, the Prince of Wales has always aimed to be ahead of the curve.

Take the Duchess of Cornwall. It was always Charles’ intention to marry Camilla (72), and he put in motion a carefully designed plan to soften public opinion, which had turned against her after Diana, Princess of Wales’ revelation that “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded”.

In July 1997, 11 months after he and Diana divorced, Charles arranged a 50th birthday party for Camilla at his country home. Her chauffeur was briefed to drive at near-walking pace as he arrived at the gates, to ensure waiting photographers could get clear shots.

It worked. “She swept into Highgrove with all the confidence of a Queen,” one paper reported. Charles let it be known that she was “non-negotiable” and the party was her “coming out”.

Then disaster struck. Diana died in a car crash in Paris six weeks later and Camilla instantly became “the most hated woman in Britain”, as another paper put it.