Prince of Wales: A Biography

by Jonathan Dimbleby

For this controversial, headline-making study of the heir to the throne, Dimbleby spent hours in candid conversations with the prince, his personal staff, and close friends, and was given access to the prince's letters, private diaries, and journals. An intimate portrait of a life trapped by destiny, The Prince of Wales offers unique insight into the man born to be King. of photos. 8-page color insert.

Genres: Biography, Royalty, Nonfiction, Politics, History

16 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Jonathan Dimbleby is a writer and filmmaker based in England. His five-part series on Russia was broadcast by BBC2 and accompanied by his book Russia: A Journal to the Heart of a Land and its People. Destiny in the Desert was recently nominated for the Hessell-Tiltman History Prize.

Reviews

[S.P. Mount · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I read it in paperback a number of years ago. Jonathan Dimbleby did an absolute stellar job in both its creation and how he detailed this very complex life of a man born to the English throne. Not only was it respectful in its often candid revelation, but gave insight into The Prince of Wales' strengths, weaknesses and introspective. In particular, the work that Charles took over from his beloved uncle, Lord Mountbatten and how what might otherwise have seemed like a non-starter charity evolved under his direction, is one of the most admirable and respectable acts of hands-on involvement I've ever known. Few people know about the real Charles and what he does for inner city children, affording them the opportunity in life. Amazing.

To be invited as guest of honour at an architects' convention and expected to stand up and praise their work, it takes real guts to do what he did in public; slam them for the atrocities that were going up all over London, comparing them to the works of Christopher Wren and other great architects.

It details his early love affair with Camilla, his surprising strengths of a naval officer at a time when he'd wanted to ask her to marry him but couldn't ask her to be part of what he called`The Firm', for he couldn't imagine anyone in their right mind wanting to take on the role, but on deciding to ask for her hand on his return from a naval assignment in Australia, found her already engaged. The admiration his colleagues had for a man who entered that position with a self-confessed lack of confidence was entirely evident, as was his introspective, suggestive of how he feels about the throne and what he will not say at his own coronation. It's a very long book and so I couldn't possibly detail everything here, but covers many aspects of his personality, good and bad, his spirituality even, that perhaps goes against that of the Church of England. A loyal man, to his birthright and his family, even if he was forced by his father into a marriage to produce an heir; it gives a classy account of just how he felt about that whole affair - no pun intended - the reasoning that he attempted, what Mr Dimbleby describes towards a petulant and moody immature youth that was Diana.

Whenever I hear people slag Charles off, I am quick to defend The Prince of Wales, for I feel they know not of what they speak, Diana was a lovely young woman, yes, I've read her biography too, and other books, but the pair were mismatched from the get go and I can't help but feel because of her beauty and youth and all of the interviews, that people are too quick to judge Charles based on their otherwise Hollywood view of her. Simply, I found the book fascinating and couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

[ShellTheBelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Kamil Salamah · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful

[Hilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read, I learnt such a lot about the real person behind the Royal Prince!

[Dana Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and gave it a high rating because I liked the author's style of an easy read.

[Judy Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

bit of spin-doctoring for the Prince back in 1994. A good read but definitely one-sided.

[Sebastian Cosgrove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorough and extensively detailed bio. Can get tiresome in places.

[Cws]

92W

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 2 out of 5]

a complicated man with parent issues.

[Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped reading it. the gist was he had a weird and unusual childhood which screwed up his adulthood. Very sensitive, but father was very military and gung-ho.

[Michelle Ianniello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very good book. The Author did a great and thorough job with research. However it was written about 2 decades ago so it is obviously missing a lot of more recent information - hence 3 stars.

[pati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, it offers up a history of England along side Prince Charles' life - also brings into perspective Diana's role in her downfall.

[Michael Pennington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting!!

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-written and comprehensive book about the then Prince Charles. Written soon after Charles and Diana's separation, the book suffers from too many niceties and not enough tough questions. The main source material was the private journals and letters of Prince Charles the book tends to focus more on his public life and very little on his private thoughts. So don't expect anything controversial concerning his family, haters, or major public events. Instead, we get whole chapters dedicated to his Naval career and his many tours. This book does pull back the curtain a small amount to paint a picture of a man very few of us know anything about. For example, I knew about his involvement in numerous charities but had little idea of how many he created or how deeply he was involved. I also did not realize how tireless he was in these pursuits. The man puts in the hours. From foreign tours to countless speeches Charles has done his duty. He also has taken these opportunities to advance many of his more controversial ideas concerning the environment, the inner city, and more. These views lead to the British press labeling him the 'Looney Prince', and this book does help to dispel that harsh moniker. And, although, this book is a powder piece he did help me to understand a man who has spent his life seemingly aloof from society, but it did not change my views in any great measure.

[John Graham Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking at the cover, you might think that this book would be a sycophantic rosy picture of the Prince, written by an established writer eager to please the monarchy. Not so. It covers a lot of his inner conflicts regarding the existential acceptance of his preestablished destiny and the gradual unfoldment of his individulity, often conflicting with tradition and his expected role. At odds with conventional medicine, architecture, the Prince tries to reconcile what is required of him with his individualistic concepts concerning values and spirituality. A very lonely figure for much of his life, Charles transcended his dispositional lack of self-confidence to emerge as a robust thinker compatible with contemporary environmentalism. Often regarded as an eccentric, I found Charles to be perfectly comprehensible in terms of the problems he confronted as an often isolated figure struggling to find identity within the moribund confines of upper-class conventionality.

[Scott Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more than a biography. It is an extremely detailed history of the Prince’s work. The author had unprecedented access to royal archives, and the level of detail he shares on some topics might be too much for some people.

The book gives an overall sense of HRH as a gentle man with strongly held beliefs and opinions. It presents him as a tireless advocate and ambassador who works hard to find a place for himself. Prince Charles was born into a unique and challenging position and has done much more than would have been expected of heirs to the throne in generations past.

I’m glad I finally got round to reading this. I found it in the laundry room of my apartment building some years ago and it’s been in my to-read pile since then. I’d be interested in reading a follow-up that continues past 1994.

[Debbie Deissler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting read but way too much information. I enjoyed reading parts of the book but definitely skimmed over parts... Forgot that it was written a while ago as I would have liked to have seen an update after the separation with Diana. The book helped me to understand Prince Charles better as his upbringing was different than any other and clearly set up some of his traits.

[Karen Mosley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you always wanted to know (and much of what was less interesting) about Charles, the Prince of Wales. He is an interesting man with a sharp wit and empathetic nature. His life has been before the world in ways that none of us can imagine. His personal dreams, goals and ambitions have been at the mercy of his duty as heir to the throne. Growing up in a monarchical family has its price.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very frank reflection of the circumstances in the '90s with good faith and fair dealing ever present to the challenges being the Hier apparent.

[Sorcha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, particularly as a time capsule look into Charles' life as of 1994.

[Rowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very long, but very in-depth. It's an enjoyable read if you're a royal family superfan. I love all the anecdotes.