'Zero To 60 In A Flash': Prince Charles Is A 'Demanding Boss' Who Frequently 'Loses His Temper,' New Book Claims
Sept. 26 2022, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
King Charles may not be the easiest royal to work for, a new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown by Valentine Low claims.
"Charles is a demanding boss. Working for him is not a nine-to-five job. This, according to one former member of his household, is because he is very demanding of himself. 'He is never satisfied with himself, or what he has achieved. People around him had to work hard to keep up. He had enormous stamina.' Another said: 'He was demanding in that he is always working. Seven days a week. Never stops,'" an excerpt reads.
"'At any moment he may want to call you about something. Working on his boxes, on his ideas, on his papers. The pace is pretty intense.' The phone calls could come at any time, from after breakfast until 11 at night, even at Christmas. In contrast to the conviviality of his grandmother’s household, Charles’s office is suffused with a ferocious work ethic: he is a man with a mission," the author writes.
According to the book, Charles "would drive people hard," as he always "asked people to go and do things."
"The workload as private secretary would be immense. He had strong opinions. He also had a proper temper on him, which was quite fun," the book states. "'He would rarely direct it at the individual. It would be about something, and he would lose his temper. He would throw something. He would go from zero to 60 in a flash, and then back down again. Things would frustrate him, especially the media.'”
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as Prince William is known to get frustrated as well.
“I’ve seen a lot of staff come and go in my years covering the royal family and William is known to be a great boss," author Duncan Larcombe said. “He makes sure his staff are seen as much as possible as colleagues rather than employees. He’s very modern.”
"He does have a short fuse," he shared. “We don’t see it much and we certainly haven’t seen it publicly in the way we have with Charles, Philip or Harry, all of whom have shown their anger. It’s rare but when something goes wrong, William can lose his temper and give the people who work for him a dressing down."
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The Times reported on the book's excerpt.
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