A Tyrant King in the Making: Palace Aides Are 'Very Worried' About Charles III's Temper Tantrum Outbursts
British monarchs reign until death, and King Charles III's temper has his aides concerned about the trajectory of his kingship when compared to his "outbursts." Although His Temperamental Majesty can get "very cross about quite minor things," there is thankfully one other senior royal who can instantly bring the head of state "back down to earth."
"They know he can get very cross about quite minor things, and they have yet to find out how he will react in certain situations," royal author Robert Hardman wrote in his new book, The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy. "At the same time, they know that Queen Camilla is a strong voice of common sense in that regard."
"That's one of the reasons why Queen Camilla is so marvelous," one of His Majesty's longtime friends, Lord Chartres, shared with Hardman. "She can be robust in her views, and that allows him to relax. When things go wrong, and you have to keep being nice, you need an intimate who can talk you down."
On the flip side of those details, royal scribe Christopher Andersen shared with an outlet how the King can be "very moody, very temperamental. He has a volcanic temper, in fact. He’s very capable of flying into rages." The author wrote how "after accidentally dropping a cuff link down a drain, Charles once pulled the sink off the wall to which it had been mounted, then grabbed his valet by the throat in his fury."
Furthermore, the then-Prince of Wales reportedly threw furniture all over the place during some of his "vicious" back-and-forth arguments with the equally temperamental Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 1980s and '90s.
The King gave the world some memorable memes shortly after he acceded to the British throne in September 2022, after becoming the longest-waiting heir to the throne in British history. At his Accession Council, the grouchy monarch grimaced at an aide to move ink pens and wells off a table.
Later, at an engagement in Northern Ireland with Queen Camilla, his fury resurfaced when he exclaimed: "Oh god, I hate this (pen)!"
"Oh, look, it’s going everywhere," the new Queen replied as the King got visibly flustered in front of the cameras.
"I can’t bear this bloody thing... every stinking time," Charles III stated as he walked away.
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The King did acknowledge the "pen controversy" later during a speech, where he also tried to make fun of the incident to possibly lessen the concern people had about his temper.
"It is not what we do. It is who we are. Our ability to laugh at ourselves is one of our great national characteristics," His Majesty observed. "Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year!"
Daily Express reported on the expert opinions.