The Queen is ‘constantly frustrated with Prince Charles’ who will ‘never live up to her sense of duty’, a royal expert has claimed in a new documentary.
Clive Irving, author of the new biography The Last Queen, believes no members of the royal family have ‘measured up’ to Her Majesty’s enduring sense of duty.
During the Channel 4 documentary Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown, which airs tonight at 9pm, Irving argues that the Queen, 94, has ‘never really understood’ her eldest son Charles, 72, – heir to the throne – and is ‘puzzled by him.’
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The Channel 4 documentary, Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown, which airs tonight at 9pm, sees royal commentators discussing the Queen’s relationship with her oldest son, and heir to the throne. Author Clive Irving said the Monarch is ‘constantly frustrated’ with Prince Charles (Pictured: The Queen and Prince Charles at the 2019 Braemar Highland Games)
Irving also said the Queen was more drawn to being ‘openly affectionate’ with Prince Andrew (Pictured: Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2019)
Irving also claims that Prince William is the only royal who fully appreciates the Monarch’s ‘very dedicated sense of duty’, saying: ‘All those around the Queen never measure up to that at any point. Her own family has not measured up to that. Charles never measures up to that.’
The royal author also said the Queen is more drawn to Prince Andrew, 61, than his older brother, saying: ‘To this day, she’s more openly affectionate to Andrew and more forgiving toward Andrew than she is towards Charles.’
Also discussing the different characters of the siblings, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, called Charles ‘the polar opposite to younger brother Andrew’.
She said: ‘He’s [Andrew] noisy, bumptious, very charming, when he wants to be. He can be arrogant and rude; he has some characteristics of his own father.’
Clive Irving, filmed during a recent interview about his latest book, The Last Queen, is one of many royal commentators appearing in the Channel 4 documentary
Seward added that Andrew’s active service in the Navy, following Prince Philip, including piloting helicopters on missions during the Falklands War ensured he had returned ‘like a war hero, his mother was proud’.
She said that as first and second in line to the throne at that time, Charles and Andrew represented ‘everything the monarchy could be’.
The documentary claims to be an ‘in-depth examination of several dramatic conflicts between Crown and Family during the Queen’s long reign’ and begins with looking at the Queen and Prince Philip’s early romance in the mid Forties.
This week, a source close to the royal family claimed Prince William does not believe he is ‘trapped’ inside the system of the British monarchy, something claimed by Prince Harry
The couple’s wedding in 1947 was, it’s mooted, supposed to be a low-key affair but was hijacked by the need to offer some post-war jubilation and turned into a much grander national celebration.
The programme also suggests that Prince Philip, 99, who’s recovering from a month-long stay in London hospitals following a recent period of ill health, played a significant role in modernising the monarchy.
Declassified documents obtained by Channel 4 also reveal that the Queen granted her permission for Princess Margaret’s ill-fated engagement to Group Captain Peter Townsend, a divorcee – but that the Monarch had to strike a deal with then Prime Minister Anthony Eden for the potential wedding to get the green light from the Government
The documentary features now-declassified documents, including one shedding light on Princess Margaret’s ill-fated engagement to Group Captain Peter Townsend, a divorcee who was equerry to King George VI.
The Queen couldn’t offer her consent for a wedding to go ahead because she is head of the Church, which didn’t allow divorcees to marry in church at that period in history – but some have claimed that the Monarch had tried to ‘thwart’ the marriage, which the documents now disprove.
The documents obtained by Channel 4 show the then Prime Minister Anthony Eden had to also give his consent, and the Queen and the PM struck a deal for a wedding to go ahead. The couple didn’t make it down the aisle, however, with Princess Margaret eventually calling off their love affair.
This week, a source close to the royal family claimed Prince William does not believe he is ‘trapped’ inside the system of the British monarchy, something claimed by Prince Harry during his interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month.
Instead, the Duke of Cambridge, who is second in line to the throne behind his father, has ‘accepted’ his role and ‘the path set for him’, royal sources say.
‘He is very much his grandmother’s grandson in that respect of duty and service,’ the source, who is close to both brothers, told the Sunday Times.
Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown airs on Sunday 21st March at 9pm on Channel 4