Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role

Last updated
Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role
Genre Documentary film
Presented by Jonathan Dimbleby
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time150 minutes
Original release
Network ITV
Release29 June 1994 (1994-06-29)

Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role is a documentary about Charles III, then Prince of Wales, broadcast on 29 June 1994 on ITV. It was presented by Jonathan Dimbleby.

Contents

Excerpts from the film were broadcast on NBC's Dateline a few days after its original broadcast. [1]

Content and production

The programme was two and half hours in duration and featured several interviews with Charles. [2] The programme was broadcast to mark the 25th anniversary of Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales. [3]

Film production took 18 months, and 180 hours of footage was shot. [4] The remaining footage is believed to be stored at Windsor Castle. [4] The broadcast of the film was watched by 13 million people. [5] In the UK, the National Grid reported a 700 MW surge in demand for power after the programme[ clarify ]. [6] Dimbleby said of his documentary that "While I had no reason to feel any hostility towards the Prince, I did not want to be in a position of painting a glossy portrait". [7] Dimbleby said that he had "complete editorial freedom" in the making of the film. [3] In an interview with Valerie Grove in July 1994, Dimbleby said that had he not asked the question on infidelity he would have been "pilloried" and that Charles was "perfectly entitled to say it is nobody's business". Dimbleby said that Charles "... cannot lie, he's not good at disguising it when he's not having a good time, and in conversation I don't think he is capable of telling a lie" and that "What comes through is a man speaking the truth — his face, his body language, his anguish". [5]

The film shows Charles on his official visits to Mexico, the Middle East, Australia, and various countries in Europe. Charles is interviewed about his children, Prince William and Prince Harry, and the failure of his marriage to their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. [7] Dimbleby asked Charles if he had been faithful to his wife, Charles admitted that he had been "until it became clear that the marriage had irretrievably broken". [3] Charles described the failure of his marriage as "... the last possible thing that I ever wanted. I mean, I'm not a total idiot ... It's not something that I went into, marriage, you know, with the intention of this happening, or in any way in a cynical frame of mind ... I have always tried to get it right and tried to do the right thing by everybody". [1] Referring to the extensive media coverage of his marriage Charles said that "It's so difficult though, in this day and age, I find, to know how to play the media ... It is very hard, I think, to know where the balance lies". [1]

Charles spoke of his belief that Islam, Catholicism, Zoroastrianism and other faiths were of equal importance to Protestantism and that he preferred the title "Defender of the Divine" to "Defender of the Faith" in reference to the British Sovereign's role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. [8] Charles also said that Britain should reintroduce a form of community or national service for young people, and that other countries should pay for foreign British military interventions when part of an international effort. [8]

Admission of adultery

In the programme Charles notably admitted to having committed adultery after it had become clear to him that his marriage had broken down. [3] Charles and Diana had separated two years before the programme. [9] Dimbleby referred to reports in tabloid newspapers regarding Charles's personal life and asked him if he had tried to be "faithful and honourable" to his wife, to which Charles replied "Yes, absolutely". Dimbleby asked him if he had been faithful to her and Charles replied "Yes ... Until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried". [9]

Richard Aylard, the Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales, confirmed that the woman in question was Camilla Parker-Bowles at a press conference the day after programme. [10] Charles had referred to Camilla as a "dear friend" and "a great friend of mine" but described her as only one of "a large number of friends". [3] Camilla and her husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, divorced in January 1995. [10]

Reception and aftermath

Dimbleby's biography of Charles, The Prince of Wales: A Biography was published in October 1994. [2]

Writing in The Guardian in 2021, Caroline Davies wrote that Charles's "astonishing admission of adultery on camera stunned the nation" and that the "fallout was immense, not least because it led to Diana's famous retaliatory interview". [9] Diana's interview with Martin Bashir was broadcast the following year after the programme. [9] On the night the interview was broadcast, Diana attended an event at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens wearing a "daring" black off the shoulder dress that has been interpreted as having been worn "in revenge" for Charles's admission of adultery. Penny Goldstone wrote in Marie Claire in 2021 that the dress remains one of Diana's "most iconic styles of all time". [11]

William Rees-Mogg wrote in The Times that the documentary was "part of a public relations exercise" that had been planned "to restore [Charles's] image" and compared it to previous examples of British royal "public relations" including Edward III's foundation of the Order of the Garter and Henry VIII's Field of the Cloth of Gold. [12] Peter Waymark wrote in The Times that the programme "fills two-and-a-half hours of peak screentime and should go far to meet complaints that he [Charles] is not given fair treatment by the media". [7]

The film was seen as an attempt by supporters of Charles to redress the media coverage garnered by Diana in the previous decade; Steve Coll wrote in The Washington Post that "the prince has been overshadowed by Diana's global charisma and more recently has been victimized, at least in the view of the Charles camp, by systematic leaks to the media that she authorized" and that the film was "the prince's calculated attempt to match Diana at her own media game". [1] Alan Hamilton wrote in The Times in November 1995 that the film was "an earnest examination of the man's boundless, but not always riveting, good works" and that "The jewel, when revealed, was set amid great cushions of sympathetic padding ... The disclosure was not in itself a shock, for the tabloids had been raking the coals for months beforehand; yet it was a shock to hear it from his own lips, and a shock that he should choose such a public platform as his confessional" and that "the Prince attracted far more sympathy than opprobrium for what viewers saw as his decision to be so honest". [13]

Two-thirds of respondents to a telephone poll conducted by The Sun believed Charles "unfit to be king" in the aftermath of the interview. [9]

Reviewing the film in The Washington Post , Steve Coll described it as having the "... tone of a wartime propaganda film – obsequious and elaborately flattering". [1] Referring to the media frenzy in the wake of the programme Coll wrote that "Tiny nuances in leaked excerpts from the film have been dissected for days by tabloid and broadsheet newspapers seeking clues to Charles's royal intentions. The implications of his words for the long-term health of the British monarchy have been widely debated. Winners and losers in Britain's royal sweepstakes have been publicly assessed". [1]

Reviewing the film in The Independent , Allison Pearson wrote that the tone of the film was "both privileged and self-indulgent – the very qualities it strove to play down in its subject" and that by "posing the big infidelity question", Dimbleby "kept his journalistic credibility, but also drew attention away from a docile approach elsewhere". Pearson felt the film was "the most remarkable royal film ever made" by virtue of its access to Charles's emotional life. Pearson concluded that "The headlines predictably zeroed in on the Prince's adultery and broad definition of faith, but 13 million viewers will have taken away a picture of a man as decent as he is troubled". [14]

In his column for The Times , Matthew Parris wrote in June 1994 that Dimbleby "struck a small but welcome blow for civilised television discourse" feeling that "It was not a matter of extracting or bludgeoning opinions from [Charles]. As a result, Dimbleby was able to adopt the role of midwife to a natural birth, rather than surgeon in a Caesarean section" and "It was clear that Dimbleby had accompanied the Prince almost everywhere for a very long period. They must have had innumerable chats, some private, some recorded. Different "interviews" appeared to have taken place at very different times and in different circumstances. So what we got was a developing conversation between two men. The fear and tension, the urgency and artificiality which often produce "news" but so seldom enhance understanding or sympathy, were absent". Dimbleby was a "... softman extraordinaire. He was never rude, never insistent. His questions were never tendentious. Only with the utmost gentleness did he lead his witness". [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana, Princess of Wales</span> Member of the British royal family (1961–1997)

Diana, Princess of Wales, was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon, and earned her enduring popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles III</span> King of the United Kingdom since 2022

Charles III is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Bashir</span> British journalist (born 1963)

Martin Henry Bashir is a former British journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC's Panorama programme, for which he gained an interview with Diana, Princess of Wales under false pretences in 1995. Although the interview was much heralded at the time, it was later determined that he used forgery and deception to gain it.

James Lifford Hewitt is a former cavalry officer in the British Army. He came to public attention in the mid-1990s after he disclosed an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still married to then-Prince Charles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennie Bond</span> English journalist and television presenter

Jennifer Bond is an English journalist and television presenter. Bond worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent. She has also hosted Cash in the Attic and narrated the programme Great British Menu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Dimbleby</span> British commentator and presenter (born 1938)

David Dimbleby is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme Question Time. He is the son of broadcaster Richard Dimbleby and elder brother of Jonathan Dimbleby, of the Dimbleby family. Long involved in the coverage of national events, Dimbleby hosted the BBC Election Night coverage from 1979 to 2017, as well as United States presidential elections on the BBC until 2016. He has also presented and narrated documentary series on architecture and history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Dimbleby</span> English journalist and broadcaster (1913–1965)

Frederick Richard Dimbleby was an English journalist and broadcaster, who became the BBC's first war correspondent, and then its leading TV news commentator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Dimbleby</span> British television presenter and journalist (born 1944)

Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, author and historian. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of television presenter David Dimbleby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer</span> Brother of Diana, Princess of Wales

Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer,, styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is the maternal uncle of William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

<i>Panorama</i> (British TV programme) BBC Television current affairs documentary programme

Panorama is a British current affairs documentary programme broadcast on the BBC. First broadcast in 1953, it is the world's longest-running television news magazine programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevening</span> Country house in Kent, England

Chevening House is a large country house in the parish of Chevening in Kent, England. Built between 1617 and 1630 to a design reputedly by Inigo Jones and greatly extended after 1717, it is a Grade I listed building. The surrounding gardens, pleasure grounds and park are listed Grade II*.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles</span> 2005 British wedding

The wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles took place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on 9 April 2005. The ceremony, conducted in the presence of the couple's families, was followed by a Church of England Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George's Chapel. The groom's parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, did not attend the civil wedding ceremony, but were present at the Service of Prayer and Dedication and held a reception for the couple in Windsor Castle afterwards.

Paul Burrell is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Diana, Princess of Wales.

Alexandra Shân "Tiggy" Pettifer is a British former nanny and companion to Prince William and Prince Harry. She was a personal assistant to Charles III from 1993 to 1999. She has used her married name since her marriage to Charles Pettifer in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales</span> 1997 funeral ceremony in London

The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, started on Saturday 6 September 1997 at 9:08 am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey started tolling to signal the departure of the cortège from Kensington Palace. The coffin was carried from the palace on a gun carriage by riders of the King's Troop and escorted by mounted police along Hyde Park to St James's Palace, where Diana's body had remained for five days before being taken to Kensington Palace. The Union Flag on top of the palace was lowered to half mast. The official ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey in London and finished at the resting place in Althorp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer</span> 1981 royal wedding in London

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a member of the Spencer family.

<i>The Crown</i> (season 5) Season of television series

The fifth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 9 November 2022. It was the first season of the series to be released following both the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 9 April 2021 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022.

<i>Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After</i> 1992 US-Canadian film made in England directed by John Power

Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After is a dramatic television movie of 1992 telling the real-life story of the failed marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales, and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales</span> 35th episode of the 43rd season of Panorama

"An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales" is an episode of the BBC documentary series Panorama which was broadcast on BBC1 on 20 November 1995. The 54-minute programme saw Diana, Princess of Wales, interviewed by journalist Martin Bashir about her relationship with her husband, Charles, Prince of Wales, and the reasons for their subsequent separation. The programme was watched by nearly 23 million viewers in the UK. The worldwide audience was estimated at 200 million across 100 countries. In the UK, the National Grid reported a 1,000 MW surge in demand for power after the programme. At the time, the BBC hailed the interview as the scoop of a generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revenge dress</span> Dress once worn by Diana, Princess of Wales

The "revenge dress" was an evening gown worn by Diana, Princess of Wales to a 1994 dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. The garment has been interpreted as having been worn by Diana "in revenge" for the televised admission of adultery by her husband Charles, then Prince of Wales.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Steve Coll (16 October 1994). "Nose Dive Into Media Mayhem". The Washington Post . Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 Will Bennett (16 October 1994). "Prince Charles says he has no regrets over Dimbleby book". The Independent . Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Hamilton, Alan; De Bruxelles, Simon (28 June 1994). "Prince had affair 'after marriage breakdown". The Times. No. 64992. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. 1 2 Kingsley, Hilary (9 July 1994). "A royal not to be recycled". The Times. No. 65002. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  5. 1 2 Grove, Valarie (1 July 1994). "'If I had not asked that one question I would have been pilloried'". The Times. No. 64995. p. 17. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  6. ↑ Montalbano, William D. (21 November 1995). "Princess Diana, in TV Interview, Vows a 'Fight to the End'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Waymark, Paul (25 June 1994). "Charles: media's darling or merely disarming?". The Times. No. 64990. p. 19. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 Hamilton, Alan (1 July 1994). "Divorce is no bar to throne says Prince". The Times. No. 64994. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Caroline Davies (16 February 2021). "Adultery, accusations and walkouts: when royals do TV interviews". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  10. 1 2 Sarah Bradford (5 July 2007). Diana. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN   978-0-14-190673-7.
  11. ↑ Penny Goldstone (4 November 2020). "The story behind Princess Diana's revenge dress". Marie Claire . Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Rees-Mogg, William (27 June 1994). "Why modesty is the best royal policy". The Times. No. 64991. p. 14. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Hmilton, Alan (15 November 1995). "Palace insights serve only to fuel public curiosity". The Times. No. 65425. p. 3. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  14. ↑ Allison Pearson (2 July 1994). "The private man, the primetime exposure". The Independent . Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  15. ↑ Parris, Matthew (28 June 1994). "Matthew Parris". The Times. No. 64994. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.