Prince Charles fears becoming king will condemn him to ‘imprisonment’ – denying him the freedom to pursue his favoured causes.
Despite being seen as itching to ascend the throne, he is already feeling the weight of duty, according to an extraordinary profile published today.
Aides say the prince is desperate to get as much of his charitable and environmental work done before ‘the prison shades’ close.The surprise insight into his thinking comes from interviews with more than 50 of his friends and associates.
Catherine Mayer had extensive access to Charles for her TIME Magazine front cover story, The Forgotten Prince. She visited royal residences in England, Scotland and Wales and followed him to meetings and on official visits.
Charles, 64, is for the first time deputising for the 87-year-old Queen at a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka next month but Miss Mayer says he ‘accepts these additional duties joylessly’.
She writes: ‘He prefers not to focus on his accession, which, after all, means losing his mother. And far from itching to assume the crown, he is already feeling its weight and worrying about its impact on the job he has long been doing.’
