Inside President Nixon's Royals 'Obsession': Disgraced Head of State Tried to Arrange Marriage Between His Daughter and Prince Charles

Long before Watergate and Camillagate, respectively, President Richard Nixon and a then-Prince Charles met at the White House during the summer of 1970. It was during this impromptu meeting that the former president was found to be "obsessed" with the British royal family, up to and including trying to arrange a marriage between the heir to the throne and his daughter, Tricia.

"At the time, Charles was frequently talked about as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors," author David Charter told an outlet. "And Nixon was very keen on the royals.”

The Prince of Wales, 21, was visiting Washington, D.C., along with his sister, Princess Anne, 19, at an invitation from the State Department.

"Before Charles came to America, Richard Nixon was invited to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth in the summer of 1969," Charter explained. "When Nixon shook hands with Charles, he told him, 'Both of my daughters follow you very closely.' Prince Philip commented, 'I'm sure one is no longer.' He was referring to Nixon’s daughter, Julia, who had just gotten married."

The author of the new book, Royal Audience, added: "It was very obvious that Nixon was dropping hints that his daughter Tricia was interested in Charles because she was following him closely."

"When Charles arrived, he found himself paired off with Tricia at all of these public appearances the entire time," the scribe continued. "He even later joked about how Nixon was trying to marry him off to Tricia. It was several days of him being paired off with Tricia. Nixon made sure Tricia was his chaperone the entire time. There are lots of great photographs of Charles and Tricia together, to Nixon’s delight. He was hoping something was happening between them."

Charter observed: "She was unattached. There was no boyfriend on the scene. Tricia was a similar age to Charles and, of course, newspapers kept wondering when he would finally meet his match... I think Charles was amused by the whole thing. But Richard Nixon, who was so fascinated by the royal family, was hopeful."

Several observers have shared over the years how the future monarch "didn't seem at all interested" in the first daughter, and spent most of the time "confused about baseball and such."

Nixon's eldest daughter went on to marry Edward F. Cox the following year, and sometime later in 1970, the Prince of Wales would meet the woman who became the love of his life, and his future Queen — Camilla Shand.

Prince Charles would go on to marry Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, which was preceded by Camilla's marriage to Andrew Parker-Bowles in 1973. Both couples divorced in the mid-1990s, and Charles and Camilla eloped in April 2005. Tricia and Cox remain married to this day.

Fox News reported on Charter's book.