King Charles 'Knows' Queen Elizabeth's Diaries Are 'Full of Bombshells': 'The Truth Always Comes Out'
Oct. 7 2023, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Queen Elizabeth kept a diary up until she passed away in September 2022, and now it looks letters and other material are being sorted through to potentially be published one day.
According to a source, King Charles is having a trusted aide go through the diaries twice a week inside Buckingham Palace.
“King Charles has assigned his mother’s most trusted aide, Paul Whybrew, to gather her private papers, including diaries and copies of letters she sent throughout her nine decades, to be preserved for posterity,” said a palace source, adding that the courtier, whom Elizabeth affectionately called “Tall Paul,” is known as her “secret keeper.”
It's unclear what Whybrew or Charles may discover, but the King "knows the papers are full of bombshells, and he’s relying on Paul to make sure some of them never see the light of day,” said the insider, noting that the royal family has a history of destroying secret documents before they reach the royal archives.
This is hardly the first time the Queen's private thoughts could be made known to the public, as The Telegraph reported, "It is understood to be too early to decide which documents might eventually be publicly released in the years to come from the Royal Archives. The Queen kept a handwritten diary, which could offer an unprecedented look at the late monarch’s thoughts and views on political and family life during her long reign."
Though there are likely to be secrets, the Daily Mail reported "it was much more perfunctory than the journals kept by Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother."
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As OK! previously reported, the Queen, who died at 96 years old, didn't always have a great relationship with her eldest son, especially after he cheated on Princess Diana with his now-wife, Queen Camilla.
"The queen and her advisers, her courtiers, her private secretary – they all believed that Prince Charles should give up Camilla," biographer Andrew Morton shared. "He could love her, but he needed to leave her. And that’s because they felt she was damaging to the monarchy, which she was. There’s no question about that."
"The presence of Camilla in Charles’ life did cause a rift between the queen and her eldest son, one which took several years to patch up," the author added.
The mother-son duo made up, but the Queen brought in a third party to help out.
"It wasn’t until the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, intervened and said, ‘Look, I’ve spoken to Camilla on numerous occasions. She’s dedicated and loving. And her feelings for Charles are not going away,’" Morton shared of what he told the queen.
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Life & Style spoke with the source.