Word: mountbatten
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...period in Charles' youth, Earl Mountbatten, Philip's uncle and a tireless meddler in the family's affairs, acted in place of both Charles' parents. After Mountbatten's death came such gurus as South African-born writer Sir Laurens Van der Post. If Diana turned to various therapies, Charles explored exotic lore, became a "green" and an organic gardener. Before long the tabloids had him talking to his carrots at Highgrove...
...Charles' circle is dominated by his mistress Parker Bowles; his foghorn friend Nicholas Soames, Minister of State for the Armed Forces; and Mountbatten's daughter Patricia. Perhaps the person closest to him is his private secretary, Richard Aylard, whose influence is extensive and widely questioned. In truth, Charles has the survival smarts of a baby seal. Aylard urged the Dimbleby project on him; his idea seemed to be that to know the Prince was to love...
London School of Economics historian David Starkey calls the Waleses' marriage "one of the best-documented human relationships since the Greek myths." It's now clear that the union had little chance of enduring. Charles took Mountbatten's advice to play around for a while and then settle down with a simple, virginal girl. Says Starkey: "That's advice that might have been quite sensible in 1906, but somewhat foolish...
...around London is that if Elizabeth II lives another 20 years, Charles may stand aside in favor of William.) But Diana has reportedly told the Queen she would never let her down, and her mother-in-law's commands are the only ones she follows unfailingly. The late Earl Mountbatten, one of Charles' many mentors, once said nothing guarantees the monarchy's survival; it is only as strong as any given King. So the drama plays like any good soap opera: you simply have to stay tuned...
Britain sought to straddle the divide by naming Prince Philip, who as a naval lieutenant accompanied his uncle Lord Mountbatten to the Japanese surrender ceremonies in 1945. Philip's war credentials partly defused the issue, but the president of the National Federation of Far Eastern Prisoners of War Association, Harold Payne, reportedly said Mountbatten "would turn in his grave" if he knew of the Prince Consort's plans. Likely to roil the waters further is an upcoming BBC documentary contending that Hirohito must have known of the 1937 rape of Nanking, in which Japanese troops butchered at least...