Prince Charles : the passions and paradoxes of an improbable life / Sally Bedell Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Sally Bedell, 1948- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Charles III, King of Great Britain, 1948-.

Charles.

Charles III, King of Great Britain, 1948---Family.

Charles, Prince of Wales, 1948-.

Princes--Great Britain--Biography.

Princes.

Families.

Great Britain.

Local Subjects:

Charles, Prince of Wales, 1948-.

Families.

Princes.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Biography.

Physical Description:

xxii, 596 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), map ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Random House, [2017]

Summary:

"Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new and authoritative 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--is filled with fresh insights into Charles's life, in and out of the public eye. [This book] 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 relationship 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. His life is dictated by protocol, yet he often struggles to obey it. He seeks influence and authority, yet he lives perpetually in the shadow of his mother and the beloved next generation of royals. 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. This 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. Drawing upon hundreds of sources, many of whom are speaking on the record for the first time, [this book] is the surprising and definitive portrait of the man who will be king."--Jacket.

Contents:

The lonely schoolboy

Cold showers in the morning

Heir to a fortune

Nixon plays matchmaker

The shadow of Camilla

Wild oats

Searching for meaning

Prince without a princess

Diana snares her man

Glamour and heartache

Naming and shaming

A marriage in shambles

Dangerous liaisons

Butterfly mind

Midlife melancholy

Timeless principles

Love tape

Diana's revenge

Wounded feelings

Scarlet A

Three in a marriage

Breathing the same air

Tragedy in Paris

No ordinary pilgrim

Media makeover

Out of the shadows

Cracking the ice

Deaths in the family

Blackadder's revenge

Hitched at last

Camilla joins the firm

Royal infighting

A prince in full

Rising sons

On the defensive

The magnificent seven

Rehearsing new roles

The shadow king's legacy

"Don't ever stop."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [515]-569) and index.

ISBN:

9781400067909

1400067901

OCLC:

959922507