Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life

Sally Bedell Smith

Random House Publishing Group, Apr 4, 2017 - Biography & Autobiography - 624 pages

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The life and loves of Prince Charles are illuminated in a major new biography from the New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen—perfect for fans of The Crown.

Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest heir to the throne in more than three hundred years. This vivid, eye-opening biography—the product of four years of research and hundreds of interviews with palace officials, former girlfriends, spiritual gurus, and more, some speaking on the record for the first time—is the first authoritative treatment of Charles’s life that sheds light on the death of Diana, his marriage to Camilla, and his preparations to take the throne one day.

Prince Charles brings to life the real man, with all of his ambitions, insecurities, and convictions. It begins with his lonely childhood, in which he struggled to live up to his father’s expectations and sought companionship from the Queen Mother and his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten. It follows him through difficult years at school, his early love affairs, his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his intense search for spiritual meaning. It tells of the tragedy of his marriage to Diana; his eventual reunion with his true love, Camilla; and his relationships with William, Kate, Harry, and his grandchildren.

Ranging from his glamorous palaces to his country homes, from his globe-trotting travels to his local initiatives, Smith shows how Prince Charles possesses a fiercely independent spirit and yet has spent more than six decades waiting for his destined role, living a life dictated by protocols he often struggles to obey. With keen insight and the discovery of unexpected new details, Smith lays bare the contradictions of a man who is more complicated, tragic, and compelling than we knew, until now.

Praise for Prince Charles

“[Smith] understands the British upper classes and aristocracy (including the royals) very well indeed. . . . [She] makes many telling, shrewd points in pursuit of realigning the popular image of Prince Charles.”—William Boyd, The New York Times Book Review

“[A] masterly account.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Thoroughly researched and insightful . . . In this profile, it is clear [Smith] got inside the circular barriers that protect the man and his position. The Charles that emerges is, as the subtitle suggests, both a paradox and a creature of his passions.”—The Washington Times

“[A] compellingly juicy bio . . . Windsor-philes will be mesmerized.”—People

“Prince Charles paints an affectingly human portrait. . . . Smith writes about [Charles’s life] with a skill and sympathy she perfected in her 2012 biography of Charles’s mother.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“Comprehensive and admirably fair . . . Until his accession to the throne, Smith’s portrait will stand as the definitive study.”—Booklist (starred review)

“[A] fascinating book that is not just about a man who would be king, but also about the duties that come with privilege.”—Walter Isaacson

“Sally Bedell Smith has given us a complete and compelling portrait of the man in the shadow of the throne. It’s all here, from the back stairs of the palaces to the front pages of the tabs.”—Tom Brokaw

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - Whisper1 - LibraryThing

A clunker of a book, with over 500 pages of dining, whining, partying, complaining, inability to stay on one path -- Prince Charles of England I thought some of the book was noteworthy, and I learned ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - hobbitprincess - LibraryThing

I didn't learn much that I didn't already know, but I did get a better sense of just how hard he works. I think Smith paints what is probably a fairly realistic picture of the true prince. He is, like ...

Contents

• Preface: 3
• Cold Showers in the Morning: 17
• Heir to a Fortune: 31
• Nixon Plays Matchmaker: 51
• The Shadow of Camilla: 67
• Wild Oats: 76
• Searching for Meaning: 93
• Prince without a Princess: 111
• Diana Snares Her: 123
• Glamour and Heartache: 145
• Naming and Shaming: 161
• A Marriage in Shambles: 173
• Dangerous Liaisons: 195
• Butterfly Mind: 205
• Midlife Melancholy: 217
• Timeless Principles: 231
• Love Tape: 241
• Dianas Revenge: 251
• Wounded Feelings: 271
• Scarlet A: 283
• Three in a Marriage: 295
• Breathing the Same Air: 303
• Tragedy in Paris: 317
• No Ordinary Pilgrim: 329
• Media Makeover: 339
• Out of the Shadows: 349
• Cracking the Ice: 359
• Deaths in the Family: 367
• Blackadders Revenge: 377
• Hitched at Last: 391
• Camilla Joins the Firm: 403
• Royal Infighting: 413
• A Prince in Full: 427
• Rising Sons: 439
• On the Defensive: 449
• The Magnificent Seven: 459
• Rehearsing New Roles: 471
• The Shadow Kings Legacy: 483
• Dont Ever Stop: 495
• Acknowledgments: 509
• xiii: 515
• 51: 533
• Bibliography: 563
• 67: 572
• 161: 580
• 231: 595

About the author

Sally Bedell Smith is the author of bestselling biographies of Queen Elizabeth II; William S. Paley; Pamela Harriman; Diana, Princess of Wales; John and Jacqueline Kennedy; and Bill and Hillary Clinton. A contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 1996, she previously worked at Time and The New York Times, where she was a cultural news reporter. In 2012, Smith was the recipient of the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence. She is the mother of three children and lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Stephen G. Smith.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life
• Author: Sally Bedell Smith
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2017
• ISBN: 0812988434, 9780812988437
• Length: 624 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Royalty; History / Europe / Great Britain / General; History / Modern / General