By now, you’ve probably seen that there’s a new tell-all bestseller just released about Prince Charles and our ever-beloved Princess Diana, entitled Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, by Sally Bendell Smith.
It’s just in time to commemorate the 20th-year anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. But it also appears to go against the widely held beliefs and romanticized mythology about Diana. She was loved and idolized by fans from around the world, and her tragic (and untimely) death served to further lead us toward an irrevocable impression of her immortalized legend status.
But What About Prince Charles?
From all reports, the book was designed to reinvent the image (and perhaps even legacy) of the ever-stoic Prince Charles. It’s a bit late to re-write history, even if he was a really great father.
From most accounts, even before this tell-all book, the relationship between Charles and Diana was one that never really was meant to be. The storybook wedding was a sham, and the marriage was fraught with pain and controversy, even before the very public divorce.
With such a devoted following of Princess Diana, and the realities of her devastatingly tragic death, it’s likely that almost everything that could have been said about the pair has been said. Still, fans will love the latest addition to royal biographies (evidenced by the bestseller status). Perhaps you’ll be curious to learn more about Prince Charles, with all his innumerable passions: Jung, environment, reincarnation, architecture, and alternative medicine. His dabblings may not be as well-known on the world stage. (Can anyone really compare to the saint-like status of Princess Diana and her causes?) But, he does offer some elements of curiosity for the uninitiated.
After all, who doesn’t like to know the good, the bad and the ugly about the royals? His like may be seen as improbable, after all.