Charles: In His Own Words (2023) Movie Script
1
MAN: A few moments ago,
Buckingham Palace
announced the death of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen died
peacefully at Balmoral.
CHARLES: My life will,
of course, change as I take up
my new responsibilities.
I, Charles, do become
your liege man of life and limb.
REPORTER: The British
press often casts him
as weak and a bit weird.
CHARLES: Now where
have you all come from?
CREW MEMBER: Were
the Australian crew.
CHARLES: Bloody hell!
INTERVIEWER: Are there many
contenders at the moment...
CHARLES: Contenders for what?
INTERVIEWER: For your
hand in marriage.
CHARLES: No, no.
(clapperboard claps).
(crowd cheering)
WILLIAM: Lord Mountbatten
helped him by providing a
secure weekend house
for courting purposes.
CHARLES: I suppose I
lead a fairly sheltered life.
I was chucked into a pond,
and I either sank or I swam.
Were not
reacting quickly enough.
INGRID: We have an
unwritten constitution;
he cant meddle in politics;
he has to be above politics.
INTERVIEWER: Some people
have accused you of meddling.
CHARLES: Really?
You don't say.
It's not so bad for me,
it's much worse for the girl
concerned because she's
not used to dealing
with the press, at all.
Please, no, it's too...
(Harry laughs).
CHARLES: I shall endeavor
to serve you as I have
throughout my life.
CHARLES: Oh, God,
I hate this pen.
CAMILLA: Oh, look
its going everywhere.
CHARLES: I cant
bear this bloody thing!
What they do,
every stinking time.
MAN (over film): So,
to the picture for which
the world has been waiting:
the first official film
record of the infant prince,
Charles of Edinburgh.
And now were privileged
to show you the very latest
picture of young
Prince Charming on
his second birthday.
MICHAEL: Theyre not the same
as any other family, because
theyre one of that
very small group of families
that whatever they do is news
and is subject to
public scrutiny.
INTERVIEWER: When did you
first realize as a little boy
that you were heir to
the throne and not just
an ordinary chap?
CHARLES: Um, I didnt
suddenly wake up in my pram
one day and say,
Yippee! you know.
I think it just dawns on you,
you know, slowly,
that you get the idea
that you have a certain
duty and responsibility.
I went to a hotel
to have a meal.
And while we were
waiting for the meal,
a lot of people were
looking in the windows
from other windows.
And so, I thought,
I can't bear this anymore
and went off somewhere else.
And the only other
place was the bar.
Having never been
into a bar before,
first thing I thought of doing
was having a drink, of course,
seemed the most sensible thing.
And being terrified,
not knowing what to do,
I said the first drink
that came into my head,
which happened to
be cherry brandy.
And hardly had I taken a sip
when the whole world exploded
around my ears.
(overlapping chatter)
MAN: Let the pictures
be taken, sergeant.
Youve got to let
the pictures be done.
They cant shoot through you.
INTERVIEWER: What about
the Australian press?
Were they kind to you?
Did they leave you alone?
CHARLES: We treated them in
such a way that, you know,
one helped, one gave them the
facility to take photographs.
And if one treated them
normally and respectfully,
they went away very
happily, saying,
Thank you very much.
Which I think is
easier than, you know,
getting angry with
them to begin with.
(camera shutters click)
(camera shutters click)
CHARLES: Now where
have you all come from?
CREW MEMBER: Were
the Australian crew.
CHARLES: Australia?
What next?
Bloody hell!
I'm not very good at
being a performing monkey.
I think that I am quite
a sort of private person.
I'm not prepared to
just perform whenever they
want me to perform.
REPORTER: Will he pose for you?
PHOTOGRAPHER:
Well, he says he wont,
but I know that he does.
CHARLES: If I appear annoyed
and fed up, its because I am.
REPORTER: We understand.
In fact, the story's
on a respite and
we, we dont want
to appear to be harassing you.
(groans).
CHARLES: Im sorry, its just,
it really does, you know,
theres a limit, I find,
to how long ones
patience can last.
I always think there's
a camera now, always.
Wherever you are, there's
somebody hiding behind
something somewhere.
And with these immense
cameras now with these
huge lenses and magnification,
and you can sit a
mile away and photograph
through windows
and everything else.
And they do.
It's clearly much
easier to invent all this and
say that it's all come from
some close friend or some member
of the staff or some,
you know, and it's all rubbish.
It's simply not true.
I've learnt over the years,
you know, to try
and ignore it by,
by just not reading most of it.
Otherwise, you go bananas.
(crowd cheering)
(WOMAN over PA):
Ladies and gentlemen,
his Royal Highness,
the Prince of Wales.
(gunshot).
ANCHORWOMAN:
Prime Minister Keating has
expressed his
disgust over an attack on
Prince Charles tonight.
REPORTER: A man ran out,
firing whats believed to be
a starter pistol.
(gunshot)
The prince held his ground.
The gunman was dragged away,
the prince resumed his
seat and the concert continued.
WOMAN: Great pleasure in
welcoming his Royal Highness
the Price of Whales.
ROBIN: The reports
coming back from London are that
this has provided
you with a new image,
a very approving sort of image.
I would...
CHARLES: Why do you
listen to all this rubbish
that these people say?
It's not done for my image,
for goodness sake!
What I don't understand is
you're all gotta have some
angle on everything all the
time instead of just treating
something as a part of life.
I mean, if you actually
do things in public,
occasionally these
things happen.
But I do see that if you
are trying to produce a
rolling 24 hour news program
every damn day of the week,
that you've gotta try and
think of something to make
the news more exciting!
MICHAEL: You think what
you would feel like if you
lived under the sort of
glare that they live under.
It does create an awful strain.
TIM: Prince Philip's upbringing
was in a sense, difficult.
His mother suffered a nervous
breakdown when he was in his
early teens and his father
went off to Monte Carlo and
he never saw him again.
So, he didn't have any
serious role models as far as
parenting was concerned.
You know, this later came
to be a bit of a handicap when
it came to bringing up
Prince Charles.
SUSANNA: Gordonstoun,
ghastly place.
It was all about being
healthy and sportive and,
and it was awful.
JOHNNY: I actually saw
one particular incident where
he was attacked
playing rugby in the scrum.
And scrums are
rough places anyway,
but I could see that
they were pulling his ears,
and he got punched.
But the interesting thing is,
and it left a strong impression
on me even at the time,
was that he was very stoic.
He never complained.
He didn't whinge, he didn't cry.
He didn't do anything that
other people might have done
in the circumstances.
He just got on with it.
CHARLES: I think probably
my time in Australia,
funny enough, when I went for
six months to school there,
had a profound effect
on me because, I was,
I mean it may
sound silly to you,
but I was chucked into a pond,
and I either sank or I swam.
I was determined I
wasn't gonna sink.
CHARLES: It was a
very rigorous life.
It was tougher than Gordonstoun.
You had to go on expeditions
every weekend into the bush and
you had two cross
countries a week.
The first ones I
had when I got there
were absolutely horrifying.
I mean, it was 90 degrees in
the shade and flies everywhere.
Dust.
And you sort of ran around
bunches of kangaroos and things.
I remember when I was at
Timbertop having to go and
switch the lights out
in the dormitories and
all I got were cries
of Pommy bastard!
(crowd laughs and applauds).
WILLIAM: People in Australia
as people in Britain did too,
acknowledged that the period
out here had done him an
enormous power of good in
terms of self-confidence.
CHARLES: It made me
grow up very quickly.
I just happen to be one of
those people who believes in
challenges because I
think that through them,
you gain a sense of achievement.
JOHNNY: When he came back
after he'd been in Australia,
you know, he did
remarkably well.
And he ended up as head
boy of Gordonstoun,
and then he went to Cambridge.
So, I think in some ways
the Australian experience
really helped him,
and he found
himself in Australia.
PROTESTER: When is it time
to get our country back?
To get independence and
freedom for our people?
When is it?
When is it ever
going to be right?
(cheering and jeering)
(overlapping chatter)
CHARLES: It is rather
anachronistic and out of place
in this world which is
perhaps somewhat cynical.
But I think it can mean
quite a lot if one goes about
it in the right way.
To me, its a way of officially
dedicating ones life,
or part of ones life, to Wales.
PETER: There are those
that feel very strongly the
investiture of Prince Charles
was an imposition on this
country of an English-born
prince and taking the title of
Prince of Wales,
which of course,
hadn't been held by a Welshman
since the 13th century.
PROTESTOR: If
you want something you have
to protest for it, dont you?
This is nothing but a waste
of money for this town.
GEORGE: And he said to me,
Who are they?
Oh, they're protesters,
I said.
He said, I'm going
to talk to them.
Very unwise, I said,
I don't think you ought to.
I'm going to talk to them.
So all I said was,
Well, I'm coming with you.
You know, he showed
remarkable courage.
He wasn't 20 then.
He wasnt 20.
He crossed the road
started to chat with them.
They were laughing
before he left them.
He's got a very great
gift for disarming people.
Its a marvelous gift for
anyone in public life.
(crowd cheering)
CHARLES: And I think if
Ive learned anything during
the last eight weeks,
its been about
Wales in particular,
and its problems,
and what these
people feel about Wales.
You see, I think they feel
so strongly about Wales as a
nation and it means
something to them and
theyre depressed by, you know,
what might happen
to it if they dont try and
preserve the language and
the culture which is very
unique and special to Wales.
And if somethings
unique and special I see
its well worth preserving.
I, Charles, Prince of Wales,
do become your liege man
of life and limb and of
earthly worship,
and faith and truth I
will bear unto thee,
to live and die against
all manner of folks.
IFOR: Its now,
after 550 years,
that were getting a
prince who can speak to us
in our own language.
CHARLES (over PA):
The words of your address have
certainly touched me deeply,
and I can assure you I
have taken note of the hopes
expressed in them.
(crowd cheering)
CHARLES (over PA):
My Lord Mayor,
thank you very much indeed,
for the very kind welcome.
I apologize for keeping
you all waiting.
EDWARDES: Well, Ive
spent my life like this and
I enjoy it so much.
CHARLES: Do you?
EDWARDES: Oh, I do.
Every minute.
CHARLES: You dont want to
make money necessarily but
just enjoy yourself.
EDWARDES: No.
So long as I get enough to get
food and the pleasures I want,
Ill be quite happy.
Quite.
CHARLES: The people in the
18th century and so used to
plant a lot of trees,
didnt they?
EDWARDES: Yes.
CHARLES: I mean, trees do
beautify the environment.
EDWARDES: Oh, they do.
(helicopter rotors)
(helicopter rotors)
CHARLES: I like to see if
I can challenge myself to do
something which is
potentially hazardous,
just to see whether
mentally I can accept that
challenge and carry it out.
I do think that a period in
the armed forces is of enormous
value and benefit.
It certainly was to me.
Understanding people,
human relations,
being responsible for
other people's welfare.
And I learned an enormous
amount from that.
McGREGOR: As long as he
makes a good touchdown,
we've got it...
Beautiful, beautiful!
CHARLES: And here I am
showing just how adaptable a
sports commentator can be.
I love imitating and mimicking
and I enjoyed it enormously at
school and university,
the actual business of acting.
And I mean, I enjoy making
people laugh if I can.
Hello, hello, hello, I
empty dust bins by taking the
lids off and lifting them
into this cart.
"Ah, those trumpets.
I cannot stand those trumpets!"
If you're making a speech,
it's extremely useful if
you can use acting techniques.
I mean, timing and
double entendre and everything
is enormously helpful.
CHARLES (over PA):
While in Florida recently,
I read in the newspapers,
it must be true...
(audience laughs)
PENNY: Hes got involved with
architecture, with education,
with urban regeneration,
with rural regeneration,
with the environment,
with conservation.
CHARLES: Do they make
you go down pot holes and
things like that?
TEENS: Yes.
CHARLES: Rather you than me.
I couldnt keep...
DAVID: The Prince of Wales
has launched many initiatives,
but none more far reaching
than the Princes Trust.
CHARLES: I felt the most
important thing was to find a
way of getting through all the
red tape and the bureaucracy
and reacting quickly
to these people.
Are you learning something?
TEENAGER:
Yeah. Quite a lot.
CHARLES: Like what?
TEENAGER: Business admin.
CHARLES: Are you?
Youre going to be able
to start your own business,
are you?
TEENAGER: Yeah.
CHARLES: I don't know about you,
but I want to see
Britain great again.
(audience applause)
I do belong to a system of
constitutional monarchy,
which does not take
stands on controversial
or political issues.
INTERVIEWER: The system
would override the conscience?
CHARLES: Well, now that's
a very difficult question.
CHARLES: I have to
think carefully before
I say something.
Because as you know,
if I say something
about a particular subject,
it could be possibly
headlines the next day.
You have, ladies and gentlemen,
to give this much to
the Luftwaffe.
When it knocked down
our buildings, it didn't replace
them with anything
more offensive than rubble.
We did that.
We cannot be anything less than
courageous and revolutionary in
our approach to
tackling climate change.
ANCHORWOMAN: Well, we
now turn to a story thats
getting a good bit of
attention here in the UK,
some secret letters
Prince Charles wrote to
government ministers
several years ago are now
being made public
after a long legal battle.
REPORTER: Over the years,
the Black Spider Memos
have developed
an air of mystery, so-called
because of Prince Charles'
sprawling handwriting.
NEWS EXPERT: Critics
believe that this could be
Prince Charles
lobbying behind the scenes,
secretly influencing
government policy in ways
that he will not be
held accountable for.
ROSE: The letters
have some asking if the prince
is overstepping his bounds.
INGRID: I think its a big
indication that Charles is not
going to shut up
when he becomes king.
But we have an
unwritten constitution;
he cant meddle in politics;
he has to be above politics.
INTERVIEWER: Some people
have accused you of meddling.
CHARLES: Really?
You don't say.
But I always wonder
what meddling is.
I mean, I always
thought it was motivating.
But I've always been
intrigued if it's meddling to
worry about the inner
cities as I did 40 years ago and
what was happening
or not happening there,
the conditions in which
people were living.
If that's meddling,
I'm very proud of it.
REPORTER: You allow the
public to get very close to you.
And in fact, two women have
got particularly close to you.
Have you been offended
by those kisses?
CHARLES: Come on, would you be?
CHARLES: I thought
it was marvelous. Im delighted.
Id much rather have them
kiss me, than slap my face.
MAN: Talking about the media,
Do you find yourself in a
position where you need to
warn the girl about
this before going out?
CHARLES: Yes.
They get used to it, of course,
that's another thing.
Everybody does get used
to things if they're
exposed to it enough.
But it may encourage, of course,
the wrong type of girl
to, to rush forward.
Do you know what I mean?
COUNTESS MOUNTBATTEN: The
pressure on Prince Charles to
find a bride came from within
him as much as anywhere because
he would realize
as the future king,
that he had to get married and
produce heirs for the throne.
WILLIAM: The Prince of Wales
had this relationship so close
with Mountbatten that it made
his father rather jealous.
Lord Mountbatten was supposed
to have helped him by providing
a secure weekend house
for courting purposes,
suggesting to the
Prince of Wales that he
might well sow his wild oats
before he was married,
but then what you had
to look for in the way
of a bride in his
position was this
virginal, perfect, unblemished,
wife who would be a
good bearer of children.
INTERVIEWER: Obviously, a lot of interest
in the young ladies you escort.
Does it become a question
of balance with you,
about the interest
that the media takes?
CHARLES: Yes.
The only problem, of course,
is its not so bad for me;
its much worse for the girl
concerned because shes not
used to dealing
with press at all.
INTERVIEWER: Would you like
to kiss Prince Charles?
WOMAN: Oh, yes. Definitely.
WOMAN: No, not really.
INTERVIEWER: Why not?
WOMAN: Well, hes about
old enough to be my father
I would say.
NIGEL: Hes not been able
to develop relationships as
you and I have.
He has to romance a girl in
strict confines, you know,
take her pheasant shooting
or up in his helicopter.
And theyve got to fall in love
with him and be able to enjoy
his life in a very,
very strict level.
They cant go to the
cinema and neck in the back row
or the front row.
They cant do wild things
in Hyde Park on dark nights.
WILLIAM: Every time he
was appearing in public
with some young woman,
it was an immediate pounce
by the media,
thinking that they might
have discovered the next
queen of Britain.
And so his courtship, I think,
was extremely difficult,
poor boy.
INTERVIEWER: Are there many
contenders at the moment or is
there any one special
girl and do you have,
CHARLES: Contenders for what?
INTERVIEWER: For
your hand in marriage.
(laughs).
CHARLES: No, no.
Theres no one special
one at the moment, no.
Contrary to what the
press in England think.
ROBERT: Every single
girlfriend that Prince Charles
started going out
with was promptly examined by
the newspapers in
really the most prurient way
to discover whether
shed had a real boyfriend,
meaning a boyfriend
shed been to bed with.
CHRISTOPHER: Its said
that Camilla's opening gambit
was My great-grandmother and
your great-great-grandfather
were lovers...
So how about it?
Who could resist
such an invitation?
ANNA: Camilla was the
love of Prince Charles' life.
Most people would agree that,
you know, they are soulmates.
ROBERT: Poor Camilla's
problem was sort of
Catch 22, and when
she met Prince Charles,
she fell in love.
They went to bed together,
but that sort of automatically
ruled her out as a future queen.
We told Prince Charles,
Sorry, mate, you
cant marry Camilla because
shes been to bed with you.
It sounds ridiculous.
It sounds primitive.
And it was.
ROBERT: Unfortunately,
of course, for both of them,
Charles and Camilla, the
emotional attachment remained.
And so, their love
affair continued.
INGRID: A lot of his
girlfriends had a past.
And we, the press,
knew that Prince Charles
had to find, at that time,
definitely, find
someone who had no past.
CHARLES: Im amazed that shes
been brave enough to take me on.
INTERVIEWER: And
I suppose in love?
DIANA: Of course.
CHARLES: Whatever
in love means.
DIANA: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: And
I suppose in love?
DIANA: Of course.
CHARLES: Whatever
"in love" means.
DIANA: Yes.
CHARLES: Put your own
interpretation...
INTERVIEWER: Well it obviously
means too very happy people.
Well, from us, congratulations.
DIANA: Thank you very much.
CHARLES: Youre very kind.
CHARLES: People
keep telling me,
now that Im
about to get married,
that the most successful
marriages are the ones where
you have to make an effort.
And you cant expect the
whole thing to be lovely and
rosy and successful
unless you do work at it.
LORD CHARTERIS: I look back
on the marriage of the
Prince and Princess of Wales
as one of the greatest things
Ive ever seen.
It was a tremendous feeling
of excitement about it.
And it looked perfect.
I saw no clouds on the horizon.
I saw nothing but
sunshine and happiness.
HUGO: They were, for a time,
really completely a dream team.
They could have gone
anywhere and done anything.
It seemed ideal.
And its very unfortunate
that it all went wrong.
DAVID: He told me both
about the television program.
And you know, as he told me,
every warning bell
was sounding in my ears.
And I said, Look, I really
would seriously question
whether this was
the right thing to do.
It brought everything
absolutely out into the open
so that there
could be no pretense.
There was no
curtain to be drawn,
and I think that had
consequences for everybody
involved in it.
RICHARD: The most damaging
charge that is made in relation
to your marriage
is that you were,
because of your relationship
with Camilla Parker Bowles from
the beginning, persistently
unfaithful to your wife and
thus caused the breakdown.
What is your response to
that persistent criticism?
CHARLES: There is no truth
in so much of this speculation.
Mrs. Parker Bowles is
a great friend of mine.
And she has been a friend
for a very long time, and,
along with a lot
of other friends,
and will continue to be a
friend for a very long time.
JONATHAN: Did you
try to be faithful and honorable
to your wife when you
took on the vow of marriage?
CHARLES: Yes, absolutely.
JONATHAN: And you were?
CHARLES: Yes.
Until it became
irretrievably broken down.
JONATHAN: I think
that by telling the truth,
in that very precise
and narrow way that he did,
lanced a large and growing boil.
Just imagine what it
would be like if the
speculation had continued,
story upon story,
lie upon lie, piling up.
I think he got it out the way.
It was painful for
everyone involved, I mean,
it must have been awful for him.
However, I think it was
a courageous and honest
thing to do.
REPORTER: The wedding comes
35 years after they first met.
And following a
relationship that helped
destroy the Princes
first marriage to Diana,
Princess of Wales.
Reaction has been mixed.
CHARLES: Brilliant.
I'd like to think I'd be the
sort of parent who will not
tell my children that
you ought to go there,
and you ought to do that,
and what I wanna do is discuss,
I hope with my children,
the pros and cons of things.
What is marvelous is to see
them develop and, you know,
start to get good
at certain things,
develop interests and all that.
You know,
it gives me enormous pleasure
and satisfaction and pride.
As they get older, there are
more things that perhaps they,
being boys, they can
do with their father.
But I've always, you know,
mucked around with
them a great deal.
I remember when
William was tiny,
I used to, you know,
muck around with him as
much as I possibly could.
(church bell tolls).
(somber music).
JEFFREY: I remember
Diana saying to me once, uh,
pointedly, she said
what a good father he was and...
what a very
dedicated man he was...
and how much she admired him.
INTERVIEWER: Around
what time period was that?
JEFFREY: Six months
before she died.
CHARLES: I'm unbelievably
proud of the children,
William and Harry.
They've been quite remarkable.
And I think they've handled an
extraordinary difficult time,
as I'm sure all of
you can imagine,
with quite enormous courage and
the greatest possible dignity.
INGRID: As soon as
the funeral was over,
nobody watched television,
nobody read any newspapers,
they just did things
with dad, you know.
And suddenly the world
could see that actually
they love their father,
which they always did,
but it was always this
feeling that maybe he wasn't
a very good father,
but he always was a good father.
And then he took Harry
with him to South Africa.
And I think that was a
turning point for Charles when
the press were on the plane,
and they suddenly thought,
you know, here is a
grieving father who is like
any other grieving father.
PRINCE HARRY: There's a lot
of stuff that I read and
there's a lot of stuff
that obviously irritates me
and my brother and
my father most as well,
as he is someone who tries
to do his best the whole time.
But always has been continually
criticized for all sorts.
You just get on with it,
you can't really deal with it.
There is no way of
dealing with it.
You just hope that the next
day that it isn't in the papers.
ANNA: Over the years,
he's always said that,
you know, on becoming king,
he would very much
step into his mother's shoes
and absolutely understand
the limitations of his position
as constitutional monarch.
JONATHON:
Dont look for guarantees.
Hes his own man with
extremely strong convictions,
and he wont stop short of
letting the politicians know
what they are.
CHARLES: The idea somehow
that I'm gonna go on exactly
the same way if I have to
succeed is complete nonsense.
Because the two situations
are completely different.
I do realize that it
is a separate exercise,
being sovereign, so of course,
you know, I understand entirely
how that should operate.
TOM: His challenge is enormous.
I think he will rise to the
challenge because hes been
preparing for it for 70 years.
This is his moment; this is
when he can prove himself.
OFFICER (over PA): Three cheers
for His Majesty the King!
Hip-hip!
SOLDIERS: Hurray!
OFFICER (over PA): Hip-hip!
SOLDIERS: Hurray!
OFFICER (over PA): Hip-hip!
SOLDIERS: Hurray!
(overlapping chatter)
CHARLES: May I say what an
enormous pleasure it is to see
so many familiar faces
gathered in this room.
Being here today is rather
like asking a pheasant to award
the prizes to the best shot.
(crowd laughter).
Speaking as a pheasant,
youve been wonderfully
sporting shots,
because I've only got
a few pellets in my backside,
and you haven't
yet brought me down.
(audience applause)
Captioned by Cotter Media Group.
MAN: A few moments ago,
Buckingham Palace
announced the death of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen died
peacefully at Balmoral.
CHARLES: My life will,
of course, change as I take up
my new responsibilities.
I, Charles, do become
your liege man of life and limb.
REPORTER: The British
press often casts him
as weak and a bit weird.
CHARLES: Now where
have you all come from?
CREW MEMBER: Were
the Australian crew.
CHARLES: Bloody hell!
INTERVIEWER: Are there many
contenders at the moment...
CHARLES: Contenders for what?
INTERVIEWER: For your
hand in marriage.
CHARLES: No, no.
(clapperboard claps).
(crowd cheering)
WILLIAM: Lord Mountbatten
helped him by providing a
secure weekend house
for courting purposes.
CHARLES: I suppose I
lead a fairly sheltered life.
I was chucked into a pond,
and I either sank or I swam.
Were not
reacting quickly enough.
INGRID: We have an
unwritten constitution;
he cant meddle in politics;
he has to be above politics.
INTERVIEWER: Some people
have accused you of meddling.
CHARLES: Really?
You don't say.
It's not so bad for me,
it's much worse for the girl
concerned because she's
not used to dealing
with the press, at all.
Please, no, it's too...
(Harry laughs).
CHARLES: I shall endeavor
to serve you as I have
throughout my life.
CHARLES: Oh, God,
I hate this pen.
CAMILLA: Oh, look
its going everywhere.
CHARLES: I cant
bear this bloody thing!
What they do,
every stinking time.
MAN (over film): So,
to the picture for which
the world has been waiting:
the first official film
record of the infant prince,
Charles of Edinburgh.
And now were privileged
to show you the very latest
picture of young
Prince Charming on
his second birthday.
MICHAEL: Theyre not the same
as any other family, because
theyre one of that
very small group of families
that whatever they do is news
and is subject to
public scrutiny.
INTERVIEWER: When did you
first realize as a little boy
that you were heir to
the throne and not just
an ordinary chap?
CHARLES: Um, I didnt
suddenly wake up in my pram
one day and say,
Yippee! you know.
I think it just dawns on you,
you know, slowly,
that you get the idea
that you have a certain
duty and responsibility.
I went to a hotel
to have a meal.
And while we were
waiting for the meal,
a lot of people were
looking in the windows
from other windows.
And so, I thought,
I can't bear this anymore
and went off somewhere else.
And the only other
place was the bar.
Having never been
into a bar before,
first thing I thought of doing
was having a drink, of course,
seemed the most sensible thing.
And being terrified,
not knowing what to do,
I said the first drink
that came into my head,
which happened to
be cherry brandy.
And hardly had I taken a sip
when the whole world exploded
around my ears.
(overlapping chatter)
MAN: Let the pictures
be taken, sergeant.
Youve got to let
the pictures be done.
They cant shoot through you.
INTERVIEWER: What about
the Australian press?
Were they kind to you?
Did they leave you alone?
CHARLES: We treated them in
such a way that, you know,
one helped, one gave them the
facility to take photographs.
And if one treated them
normally and respectfully,
they went away very
happily, saying,
Thank you very much.
Which I think is
easier than, you know,
getting angry with
them to begin with.
(camera shutters click)
(camera shutters click)
CHARLES: Now where
have you all come from?
CREW MEMBER: Were
the Australian crew.
CHARLES: Australia?
What next?
Bloody hell!
I'm not very good at
being a performing monkey.
I think that I am quite
a sort of private person.
I'm not prepared to
just perform whenever they
want me to perform.
REPORTER: Will he pose for you?
PHOTOGRAPHER:
Well, he says he wont,
but I know that he does.
CHARLES: If I appear annoyed
and fed up, its because I am.
REPORTER: We understand.
In fact, the story's
on a respite and
we, we dont want
to appear to be harassing you.
(groans).
CHARLES: Im sorry, its just,
it really does, you know,
theres a limit, I find,
to how long ones
patience can last.
I always think there's
a camera now, always.
Wherever you are, there's
somebody hiding behind
something somewhere.
And with these immense
cameras now with these
huge lenses and magnification,
and you can sit a
mile away and photograph
through windows
and everything else.
And they do.
It's clearly much
easier to invent all this and
say that it's all come from
some close friend or some member
of the staff or some,
you know, and it's all rubbish.
It's simply not true.
I've learnt over the years,
you know, to try
and ignore it by,
by just not reading most of it.
Otherwise, you go bananas.
(crowd cheering)
(WOMAN over PA):
Ladies and gentlemen,
his Royal Highness,
the Prince of Wales.
(gunshot).
ANCHORWOMAN:
Prime Minister Keating has
expressed his
disgust over an attack on
Prince Charles tonight.
REPORTER: A man ran out,
firing whats believed to be
a starter pistol.
(gunshot)
The prince held his ground.
The gunman was dragged away,
the prince resumed his
seat and the concert continued.
WOMAN: Great pleasure in
welcoming his Royal Highness
the Price of Whales.
ROBIN: The reports
coming back from London are that
this has provided
you with a new image,
a very approving sort of image.
I would...
CHARLES: Why do you
listen to all this rubbish
that these people say?
It's not done for my image,
for goodness sake!
What I don't understand is
you're all gotta have some
angle on everything all the
time instead of just treating
something as a part of life.
I mean, if you actually
do things in public,
occasionally these
things happen.
But I do see that if you
are trying to produce a
rolling 24 hour news program
every damn day of the week,
that you've gotta try and
think of something to make
the news more exciting!
MICHAEL: You think what
you would feel like if you
lived under the sort of
glare that they live under.
It does create an awful strain.
TIM: Prince Philip's upbringing
was in a sense, difficult.
His mother suffered a nervous
breakdown when he was in his
early teens and his father
went off to Monte Carlo and
he never saw him again.
So, he didn't have any
serious role models as far as
parenting was concerned.
You know, this later came
to be a bit of a handicap when
it came to bringing up
Prince Charles.
SUSANNA: Gordonstoun,
ghastly place.
It was all about being
healthy and sportive and,
and it was awful.
JOHNNY: I actually saw
one particular incident where
he was attacked
playing rugby in the scrum.
And scrums are
rough places anyway,
but I could see that
they were pulling his ears,
and he got punched.
But the interesting thing is,
and it left a strong impression
on me even at the time,
was that he was very stoic.
He never complained.
He didn't whinge, he didn't cry.
He didn't do anything that
other people might have done
in the circumstances.
He just got on with it.
CHARLES: I think probably
my time in Australia,
funny enough, when I went for
six months to school there,
had a profound effect
on me because, I was,
I mean it may
sound silly to you,
but I was chucked into a pond,
and I either sank or I swam.
I was determined I
wasn't gonna sink.
CHARLES: It was a
very rigorous life.
It was tougher than Gordonstoun.
You had to go on expeditions
every weekend into the bush and
you had two cross
countries a week.
The first ones I
had when I got there
were absolutely horrifying.
I mean, it was 90 degrees in
the shade and flies everywhere.
Dust.
And you sort of ran around
bunches of kangaroos and things.
I remember when I was at
Timbertop having to go and
switch the lights out
in the dormitories and
all I got were cries
of Pommy bastard!
(crowd laughs and applauds).
WILLIAM: People in Australia
as people in Britain did too,
acknowledged that the period
out here had done him an
enormous power of good in
terms of self-confidence.
CHARLES: It made me
grow up very quickly.
I just happen to be one of
those people who believes in
challenges because I
think that through them,
you gain a sense of achievement.
JOHNNY: When he came back
after he'd been in Australia,
you know, he did
remarkably well.
And he ended up as head
boy of Gordonstoun,
and then he went to Cambridge.
So, I think in some ways
the Australian experience
really helped him,
and he found
himself in Australia.
PROTESTER: When is it time
to get our country back?
To get independence and
freedom for our people?
When is it?
When is it ever
going to be right?
(cheering and jeering)
(overlapping chatter)
CHARLES: It is rather
anachronistic and out of place
in this world which is
perhaps somewhat cynical.
But I think it can mean
quite a lot if one goes about
it in the right way.
To me, its a way of officially
dedicating ones life,
or part of ones life, to Wales.
PETER: There are those
that feel very strongly the
investiture of Prince Charles
was an imposition on this
country of an English-born
prince and taking the title of
Prince of Wales,
which of course,
hadn't been held by a Welshman
since the 13th century.
PROTESTOR: If
you want something you have
to protest for it, dont you?
This is nothing but a waste
of money for this town.
GEORGE: And he said to me,
Who are they?
Oh, they're protesters,
I said.
He said, I'm going
to talk to them.
Very unwise, I said,
I don't think you ought to.
I'm going to talk to them.
So all I said was,
Well, I'm coming with you.
You know, he showed
remarkable courage.
He wasn't 20 then.
He wasnt 20.
He crossed the road
started to chat with them.
They were laughing
before he left them.
He's got a very great
gift for disarming people.
Its a marvelous gift for
anyone in public life.
(crowd cheering)
CHARLES: And I think if
Ive learned anything during
the last eight weeks,
its been about
Wales in particular,
and its problems,
and what these
people feel about Wales.
You see, I think they feel
so strongly about Wales as a
nation and it means
something to them and
theyre depressed by, you know,
what might happen
to it if they dont try and
preserve the language and
the culture which is very
unique and special to Wales.
And if somethings
unique and special I see
its well worth preserving.
I, Charles, Prince of Wales,
do become your liege man
of life and limb and of
earthly worship,
and faith and truth I
will bear unto thee,
to live and die against
all manner of folks.
IFOR: Its now,
after 550 years,
that were getting a
prince who can speak to us
in our own language.
CHARLES (over PA):
The words of your address have
certainly touched me deeply,
and I can assure you I
have taken note of the hopes
expressed in them.
(crowd cheering)
CHARLES (over PA):
My Lord Mayor,
thank you very much indeed,
for the very kind welcome.
I apologize for keeping
you all waiting.
EDWARDES: Well, Ive
spent my life like this and
I enjoy it so much.
CHARLES: Do you?
EDWARDES: Oh, I do.
Every minute.
CHARLES: You dont want to
make money necessarily but
just enjoy yourself.
EDWARDES: No.
So long as I get enough to get
food and the pleasures I want,
Ill be quite happy.
Quite.
CHARLES: The people in the
18th century and so used to
plant a lot of trees,
didnt they?
EDWARDES: Yes.
CHARLES: I mean, trees do
beautify the environment.
EDWARDES: Oh, they do.
(helicopter rotors)
(helicopter rotors)
CHARLES: I like to see if
I can challenge myself to do
something which is
potentially hazardous,
just to see whether
mentally I can accept that
challenge and carry it out.
I do think that a period in
the armed forces is of enormous
value and benefit.
It certainly was to me.
Understanding people,
human relations,
being responsible for
other people's welfare.
And I learned an enormous
amount from that.
McGREGOR: As long as he
makes a good touchdown,
we've got it...
Beautiful, beautiful!
CHARLES: And here I am
showing just how adaptable a
sports commentator can be.
I love imitating and mimicking
and I enjoyed it enormously at
school and university,
the actual business of acting.
And I mean, I enjoy making
people laugh if I can.
Hello, hello, hello, I
empty dust bins by taking the
lids off and lifting them
into this cart.
"Ah, those trumpets.
I cannot stand those trumpets!"
If you're making a speech,
it's extremely useful if
you can use acting techniques.
I mean, timing and
double entendre and everything
is enormously helpful.
CHARLES (over PA):
While in Florida recently,
I read in the newspapers,
it must be true...
(audience laughs)
PENNY: Hes got involved with
architecture, with education,
with urban regeneration,
with rural regeneration,
with the environment,
with conservation.
CHARLES: Do they make
you go down pot holes and
things like that?
TEENS: Yes.
CHARLES: Rather you than me.
I couldnt keep...
DAVID: The Prince of Wales
has launched many initiatives,
but none more far reaching
than the Princes Trust.
CHARLES: I felt the most
important thing was to find a
way of getting through all the
red tape and the bureaucracy
and reacting quickly
to these people.
Are you learning something?
TEENAGER:
Yeah. Quite a lot.
CHARLES: Like what?
TEENAGER: Business admin.
CHARLES: Are you?
Youre going to be able
to start your own business,
are you?
TEENAGER: Yeah.
CHARLES: I don't know about you,
but I want to see
Britain great again.
(audience applause)
I do belong to a system of
constitutional monarchy,
which does not take
stands on controversial
or political issues.
INTERVIEWER: The system
would override the conscience?
CHARLES: Well, now that's
a very difficult question.
CHARLES: I have to
think carefully before
I say something.
Because as you know,
if I say something
about a particular subject,
it could be possibly
headlines the next day.
You have, ladies and gentlemen,
to give this much to
the Luftwaffe.
When it knocked down
our buildings, it didn't replace
them with anything
more offensive than rubble.
We did that.
We cannot be anything less than
courageous and revolutionary in
our approach to
tackling climate change.
ANCHORWOMAN: Well, we
now turn to a story thats
getting a good bit of
attention here in the UK,
some secret letters
Prince Charles wrote to
government ministers
several years ago are now
being made public
after a long legal battle.
REPORTER: Over the years,
the Black Spider Memos
have developed
an air of mystery, so-called
because of Prince Charles'
sprawling handwriting.
NEWS EXPERT: Critics
believe that this could be
Prince Charles
lobbying behind the scenes,
secretly influencing
government policy in ways
that he will not be
held accountable for.
ROSE: The letters
have some asking if the prince
is overstepping his bounds.
INGRID: I think its a big
indication that Charles is not
going to shut up
when he becomes king.
But we have an
unwritten constitution;
he cant meddle in politics;
he has to be above politics.
INTERVIEWER: Some people
have accused you of meddling.
CHARLES: Really?
You don't say.
But I always wonder
what meddling is.
I mean, I always
thought it was motivating.
But I've always been
intrigued if it's meddling to
worry about the inner
cities as I did 40 years ago and
what was happening
or not happening there,
the conditions in which
people were living.
If that's meddling,
I'm very proud of it.
REPORTER: You allow the
public to get very close to you.
And in fact, two women have
got particularly close to you.
Have you been offended
by those kisses?
CHARLES: Come on, would you be?
CHARLES: I thought
it was marvelous. Im delighted.
Id much rather have them
kiss me, than slap my face.
MAN: Talking about the media,
Do you find yourself in a
position where you need to
warn the girl about
this before going out?
CHARLES: Yes.
They get used to it, of course,
that's another thing.
Everybody does get used
to things if they're
exposed to it enough.
But it may encourage, of course,
the wrong type of girl
to, to rush forward.
Do you know what I mean?
COUNTESS MOUNTBATTEN: The
pressure on Prince Charles to
find a bride came from within
him as much as anywhere because
he would realize
as the future king,
that he had to get married and
produce heirs for the throne.
WILLIAM: The Prince of Wales
had this relationship so close
with Mountbatten that it made
his father rather jealous.
Lord Mountbatten was supposed
to have helped him by providing
a secure weekend house
for courting purposes,
suggesting to the
Prince of Wales that he
might well sow his wild oats
before he was married,
but then what you had
to look for in the way
of a bride in his
position was this
virginal, perfect, unblemished,
wife who would be a
good bearer of children.
INTERVIEWER: Obviously, a lot of interest
in the young ladies you escort.
Does it become a question
of balance with you,
about the interest
that the media takes?
CHARLES: Yes.
The only problem, of course,
is its not so bad for me;
its much worse for the girl
concerned because shes not
used to dealing
with press at all.
INTERVIEWER: Would you like
to kiss Prince Charles?
WOMAN: Oh, yes. Definitely.
WOMAN: No, not really.
INTERVIEWER: Why not?
WOMAN: Well, hes about
old enough to be my father
I would say.
NIGEL: Hes not been able
to develop relationships as
you and I have.
He has to romance a girl in
strict confines, you know,
take her pheasant shooting
or up in his helicopter.
And theyve got to fall in love
with him and be able to enjoy
his life in a very,
very strict level.
They cant go to the
cinema and neck in the back row
or the front row.
They cant do wild things
in Hyde Park on dark nights.
WILLIAM: Every time he
was appearing in public
with some young woman,
it was an immediate pounce
by the media,
thinking that they might
have discovered the next
queen of Britain.
And so his courtship, I think,
was extremely difficult,
poor boy.
INTERVIEWER: Are there many
contenders at the moment or is
there any one special
girl and do you have,
CHARLES: Contenders for what?
INTERVIEWER: For
your hand in marriage.
(laughs).
CHARLES: No, no.
Theres no one special
one at the moment, no.
Contrary to what the
press in England think.
ROBERT: Every single
girlfriend that Prince Charles
started going out
with was promptly examined by
the newspapers in
really the most prurient way
to discover whether
shed had a real boyfriend,
meaning a boyfriend
shed been to bed with.
CHRISTOPHER: Its said
that Camilla's opening gambit
was My great-grandmother and
your great-great-grandfather
were lovers...
So how about it?
Who could resist
such an invitation?
ANNA: Camilla was the
love of Prince Charles' life.
Most people would agree that,
you know, they are soulmates.
ROBERT: Poor Camilla's
problem was sort of
Catch 22, and when
she met Prince Charles,
she fell in love.
They went to bed together,
but that sort of automatically
ruled her out as a future queen.
We told Prince Charles,
Sorry, mate, you
cant marry Camilla because
shes been to bed with you.
It sounds ridiculous.
It sounds primitive.
And it was.
ROBERT: Unfortunately,
of course, for both of them,
Charles and Camilla, the
emotional attachment remained.
And so, their love
affair continued.
INGRID: A lot of his
girlfriends had a past.
And we, the press,
knew that Prince Charles
had to find, at that time,
definitely, find
someone who had no past.
CHARLES: Im amazed that shes
been brave enough to take me on.
INTERVIEWER: And
I suppose in love?
DIANA: Of course.
CHARLES: Whatever
in love means.
DIANA: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: And
I suppose in love?
DIANA: Of course.
CHARLES: Whatever
"in love" means.
DIANA: Yes.
CHARLES: Put your own
interpretation...
INTERVIEWER: Well it obviously
means too very happy people.
Well, from us, congratulations.
DIANA: Thank you very much.
CHARLES: Youre very kind.
CHARLES: People
keep telling me,
now that Im
about to get married,
that the most successful
marriages are the ones where
you have to make an effort.
And you cant expect the
whole thing to be lovely and
rosy and successful
unless you do work at it.
LORD CHARTERIS: I look back
on the marriage of the
Prince and Princess of Wales
as one of the greatest things
Ive ever seen.
It was a tremendous feeling
of excitement about it.
And it looked perfect.
I saw no clouds on the horizon.
I saw nothing but
sunshine and happiness.
HUGO: They were, for a time,
really completely a dream team.
They could have gone
anywhere and done anything.
It seemed ideal.
And its very unfortunate
that it all went wrong.
DAVID: He told me both
about the television program.
And you know, as he told me,
every warning bell
was sounding in my ears.
And I said, Look, I really
would seriously question
whether this was
the right thing to do.
It brought everything
absolutely out into the open
so that there
could be no pretense.
There was no
curtain to be drawn,
and I think that had
consequences for everybody
involved in it.
RICHARD: The most damaging
charge that is made in relation
to your marriage
is that you were,
because of your relationship
with Camilla Parker Bowles from
the beginning, persistently
unfaithful to your wife and
thus caused the breakdown.
What is your response to
that persistent criticism?
CHARLES: There is no truth
in so much of this speculation.
Mrs. Parker Bowles is
a great friend of mine.
And she has been a friend
for a very long time, and,
along with a lot
of other friends,
and will continue to be a
friend for a very long time.
JONATHAN: Did you
try to be faithful and honorable
to your wife when you
took on the vow of marriage?
CHARLES: Yes, absolutely.
JONATHAN: And you were?
CHARLES: Yes.
Until it became
irretrievably broken down.
JONATHAN: I think
that by telling the truth,
in that very precise
and narrow way that he did,
lanced a large and growing boil.
Just imagine what it
would be like if the
speculation had continued,
story upon story,
lie upon lie, piling up.
I think he got it out the way.
It was painful for
everyone involved, I mean,
it must have been awful for him.
However, I think it was
a courageous and honest
thing to do.
REPORTER: The wedding comes
35 years after they first met.
And following a
relationship that helped
destroy the Princes
first marriage to Diana,
Princess of Wales.
Reaction has been mixed.
CHARLES: Brilliant.
I'd like to think I'd be the
sort of parent who will not
tell my children that
you ought to go there,
and you ought to do that,
and what I wanna do is discuss,
I hope with my children,
the pros and cons of things.
What is marvelous is to see
them develop and, you know,
start to get good
at certain things,
develop interests and all that.
You know,
it gives me enormous pleasure
and satisfaction and pride.
As they get older, there are
more things that perhaps they,
being boys, they can
do with their father.
But I've always, you know,
mucked around with
them a great deal.
I remember when
William was tiny,
I used to, you know,
muck around with him as
much as I possibly could.
(church bell tolls).
(somber music).
JEFFREY: I remember
Diana saying to me once, uh,
pointedly, she said
what a good father he was and...
what a very
dedicated man he was...
and how much she admired him.
INTERVIEWER: Around
what time period was that?
JEFFREY: Six months
before she died.
CHARLES: I'm unbelievably
proud of the children,
William and Harry.
They've been quite remarkable.
And I think they've handled an
extraordinary difficult time,
as I'm sure all of
you can imagine,
with quite enormous courage and
the greatest possible dignity.
INGRID: As soon as
the funeral was over,
nobody watched television,
nobody read any newspapers,
they just did things
with dad, you know.
And suddenly the world
could see that actually
they love their father,
which they always did,
but it was always this
feeling that maybe he wasn't
a very good father,
but he always was a good father.
And then he took Harry
with him to South Africa.
And I think that was a
turning point for Charles when
the press were on the plane,
and they suddenly thought,
you know, here is a
grieving father who is like
any other grieving father.
PRINCE HARRY: There's a lot
of stuff that I read and
there's a lot of stuff
that obviously irritates me
and my brother and
my father most as well,
as he is someone who tries
to do his best the whole time.
But always has been continually
criticized for all sorts.
You just get on with it,
you can't really deal with it.
There is no way of
dealing with it.
You just hope that the next
day that it isn't in the papers.
ANNA: Over the years,
he's always said that,
you know, on becoming king,
he would very much
step into his mother's shoes
and absolutely understand
the limitations of his position
as constitutional monarch.
JONATHON:
Dont look for guarantees.
Hes his own man with
extremely strong convictions,
and he wont stop short of
letting the politicians know
what they are.
CHARLES: The idea somehow
that I'm gonna go on exactly
the same way if I have to
succeed is complete nonsense.
Because the two situations
are completely different.
I do realize that it
is a separate exercise,
being sovereign, so of course,
you know, I understand entirely
how that should operate.
TOM: His challenge is enormous.
I think he will rise to the
challenge because hes been
preparing for it for 70 years.
This is his moment; this is
when he can prove himself.
OFFICER (over PA): Three cheers
for His Majesty the King!
Hip-hip!
SOLDIERS: Hurray!
OFFICER (over PA): Hip-hip!
SOLDIERS: Hurray!
OFFICER (over PA): Hip-hip!
SOLDIERS: Hurray!
(overlapping chatter)
CHARLES: May I say what an
enormous pleasure it is to see
so many familiar faces
gathered in this room.
Being here today is rather
like asking a pheasant to award
the prizes to the best shot.
(crowd laughter).
Speaking as a pheasant,
youve been wonderfully
sporting shots,
because I've only got
a few pellets in my backside,
and you haven't
yet brought me down.
(audience applause)
Captioned by Cotter Media Group.