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Robert Hardman sort of lucked out, releasing his new authorized biography on King Charles just as a major royal newscycle dominated headlines. Hardman has been giving a lot of interviews in the past week, and he’s updated his talking points to include his thoughts on the king’s enlarged prostate and the Princess of Wales’s hospitalization. Hardman, like so many authorized royal biographers, is a company man who will not rock the boat. He does his best “nothing to see here, everything is going smoothly” argument, ignoring the fact that Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace seem incapable of doing the same. Some highlights from Hardman’s interview in the Times:
What Hardman makes of all of the medical drama: With three senior royals out of the picture — Prince William, 41, has cancelled all engagements during his wife’s time in hospital — he views this as “a reminder that we have a slimmed-down monarchy. Elizabeth II had all her cousins, a whole extended family she could depend on. That’s not going to happen. There’s even less to go round for the next few weeks. But it just adapts and evolves. If it doesn’t adapt then it is doomed. It can’t stay in aspic.” In the short term, Hardman, 58, says we can expect “a bit of shuffling, but January is always a bit of a quiet time…[but] the back-up team is there: Princess Anne, the Edinburghs”. The result, however, will be a period of the monarchy being perceived as quite elderly.
William’s decision to scale back work commitments during his wife’s recuperation: It is “in keeping with the modern regular guy that I perceive him to be. I’m sure in previous generations that would have been more heavy lifting for the nanny,” but William will want to “keep things as normal as they can be” for the couple’s three children.
The Windsors will have to disclose more from here on out: Given this new level of transparency, Hardman says that from now on “people will expect that degree of clarity. If a member of the family goes to hospital, I don’t think they’ll be able to say it’s a minor operation, they will probably have to say what it is. That’s moving with the times.”
The future of the monarchy: Hardman believes the monarch’s future is “looking solid”. He adds: “It’s not a ratings game, they know that.” But there are long-term challenges that can’t be overlooked. Of the 14 realms outside the UK that the King inherited, nearly half are in the Caribbean. Reparations for slavery are a gnawing problem. “That is a debate that is not going to go away,” says Hardman. “It needs very careful handling. I think he’s going to be much more engaged in that than perhaps people think.”
The Sussex circus. “Charles is a realist, but he’s an optimist. Bridges can be rebuilt. Gradually, a new modus operandi will evolve, maybe when the children are a bit older.” He says that the way forward “is to make it less of a thing when they come over to Britain. The more that they do start coming back, maybe in the summer, to see Dad up in Scotland or whatever, that sort of thing very gently will lead to … some rapprochement between Harry and Meghan and the King.” However, Harry’s relationship with William is a “much more complex issue to be resolved”, and he says he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a sequel from Harry or indeed a book from Meghan.
Re: transparency… I’ll admit that I was pleasantly surprised that Charles did disclose his prostate issue and the clarity provided by BP likely soothed a lot of nerves and ended up calming everything down. It would have been much worse if Charles had done what Kensington Palace did, which is gracelessly obfuscate and refuse to do the bare minimum of transparency. The difference, I suppose, is that Charles is the head of state and Kate is not. Then again, the palace failed to disclose vital pieces of medical information about QEII’s health in her final years, so it can be done – which makes it even smarter that Charles did his disclosure.
As for what Hardman says about the Sussexes… again, this is coming from Charles’s official biographer, and this is probably close to Charles’s perspective, that the Sussexes have to make the effort to make peace and travel to Scotland this summer, etc. Which will be difficult because Charles has made it abundantly clear that Balmoral is whites-only and I don’t imagine he will extend an invitation to the whole Sussex family for anything. I hope the Sussexes spend the summer going on beach vacations and working on their projects.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. The events over a long holiday weekend in the U.K. are meant to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years of service.,Image: 696621832, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Matt Dunham / Avalon
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. The events over a long holiday weekend in the U.K. are meant to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years of service.,Image: 696653379, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Matt Dunham / Avalon
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive for the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 03, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.,Image: 696678053, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: ARTHUR EDWARDS / Avalon
London, UK 07th Nov 2023. HRH King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the carriage. They appear to look and wave at anti-royalist protesters holding “Not My King” signs. The Royal Procession and carriage, with the king wearing the Imperial State Crown, on the procession route from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords in London for the State Opening of Parliament and King’s Speech.,Image: 820407919, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter / Avalon
Image Licensed to i-Images Picture Agency. 07/11/2023. London, United Kingdom. State Opening Parliament. 

The State Opening of Parliament in London.,Image: 820415088, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Licenced to i-Images Picture Agency. All Rights Reserved. UK copyright law applies to all print & online publications. i-Images space rates apply to all images.
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Image Licensed to i-Images Picture Agency. 12/11/2023. London, United Kingdom. King Charles III at the Remembrance Sunday service at The Cenotaph in London.,Image: 821567741, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Licenced to i-Images Picture Agency. All Rights Reserved. UK copyright law applies to all print & online publications. i-Images space rates apply to all images.
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Image Licensed to i-Images Picture Agency. 12/11/2023. London, United Kingdom. King Charles III and Prince William at the Remembrance Sunday service at The Cenotaph in London.,Image: 821567832, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Licenced to i-Images Picture Agency. All Rights Reserved. UK copyright law applies to all print & online publications. i-Images space rates apply to all images.
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Tel: 07860204379, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stephen Lock / i-Images / Avalon
Britain’s King Charles III tries a glass of mulled cider during a festive themed ‘Celebration of Craft’ at Highgrove House in Tetbury, western England on December 8, 2023. The King met graduates and tutors and saw the work produced by The King’s Foundation’s Craft programmes, including the Metiers d’Art Fellowship, the School of Traditional Arts, and the Building Arts Programme.,Image: 827899624, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: AP REUTERS OUT, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: ADRIAN DENNIS / Avalon
Britain’s King Charles visits the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Britain, December 14, 2023.,Image: 829485767, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: HANNAH MCKAY / Avalon
