The prince and the prison? Charles of Wales on the front of TIME magazine in October 2013
The comment has raised the question of whether Charles really wants to be king. Until now, it's been presumed that the prince is a man in waiting but still happy to meet his destiny when it arrives, despite the personal sadness it will bring with the loss of his mother. Charles, like all heirs, has seen rumours that he hopes for an abdication swirl around him and endless comments made that he is desperate for the role of king to come his way. Clarence House, in response to the prison quote, said that the prince has always supported his mother dutifully and that his charity work and official duties continue to run in parallel. For this is what that one quote comes down to - a man doing the duty he was born to undertake.
A monarch and her heir, a mother and her son - Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales live a dual existence in their royal roles
To compare kingship to a prison is a strange analogy, to say the least, but not an unusual one. 'Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown' - Shakespeare's words are five hundred years old but still sum up the double trouble that comes with being king or queen regnant. The lines from Henry IV are part of a musing on the sleepless nights that trouble those who rule while those who must do as they say can snooze happily through the night. Kingship in the 21st century may not be as physically precarious as it was in the early 1400s, when Henry IV ruled, or involve quite so much politicking, diplomacy and maneuvering but for Charles it will still mark a major change in his life, perhaps the greatest he has ever known.
Charles, Prince of Wales has been heir to the throne of Great Britain for 61 years and is now the oldest monarch in waiting the kingdom has ever had
The role of Prince of Wales has been defined in modern times by Charles and he has packed plenty into it. His has numerous charities which offer support to all parts of British society - from the Prince's Trust working with young people to his business initiatives for those over the age of fifty, from promoting the arts to working to eradicate prejudice, the list is wide and far reaching. His own research estimates that he helps bring in around £100 million every year for good causes. Many of them are the prince's own initiatives. While retaining patronages of existing charities, Charles has established many organisations of his own. Being heir for over forty years has given him a freedom that perhaps other kings and queens in waiting have never known and he has made the very most of it. And there is no doubt that being king will change all that.
The Prince of Wales is head of a successful range of charities that work with people across all areas of life in Britain - many of the projects he is involved with are his own initiatives
Because being head of the firm means the buck stops with you and suddenly there are a lot more people who need some of your time. Just ask Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands or Philippe of the Belgians. Since they took over their respective monarchies earlier this year, both have seen a lot more of their days filled with receiving letters of credentials form ambassadors or meeting leading politicians. If something is hugely important on a national scale then the Head of State has to be involved and while we might see the end of that story, there is planning and behind the scenes work that will never be shown. Being king doesn't just bring a crown and a throne. It brings a lot more paperwork these days too.
Charles arrives at St James' Palace on October 23rd 2013 after a morning of duties ahead of the christening of Prince George of Cambridge
And it also involves a lot more criticism. Not that Charles hasn't had his share of that over the years. While much of the story of Charles Philip Arthur George as Prince of Wales involves work for charities and preparation to be king, much of it is all about Diana. There is no doubt that the major event of his life was his first marriage and the fall out as it fell apart. His second wedding had to wait until it was judged that public opinion might tolerate, if not support, it and with Camilla he has had to work hard to gain a level of acceptance for their relationship which even ten years ago still seemed impossible. The couple are now into their ninth year of marriage and there is little controversy around this royal pairing, for now. But when Charles becomes king, that may all start again. The prince and his wife want her to be known as Princess Consort on his accession but the law states she will be queen consort. Charles won't just be planning a coronation or a reign, he will be fighting controversy over his marriage, again, as soon as he is king.
Charles and Camilla may find themselves in choppy waters once he is king as they seek to establish the Duchess as a princess rather than queen consort
Some commentators have pointed out that the prince won't be able to make the same sort of political comments he has shared once he is king. But this may not necessarily be the case. While the person of the monarch is meant to be apolitical, there is an expectation that Charles will hold forth on the subjects that interest him, a feeling that never surrounded Elizabeth II before her reign. It might be even stranger for Charles, as king, to keep his thoughts to himself when he has shared high profile beliefs in the past.
Charles in the countryside - the environment and nature are two of his favourite topics and he is unlikely to keep quiet about them when he becomes king
Besides, it is still all a long way off. The official photos of Prince George's christening show the Queen in great health and looking far younger than her age. Compared with the last picture of four generations of monarchs together, taken in 1894, the contrast becomes even greater. Victoria, in that portrait, was aged 75 but looks far older than Elizabeth II who on the day she posed with her successors was 87 years of age. As has been said many times in the past, if the Queen lives as long as her mother then she will still be ruling Great Britain in 2028 and Charles, by then, will be 80 years old. The future is still to be written but as the prince has let be known today, in the meantime he will dutifully serve his mother and if he does see her throne and crown as the signs of a prison, that will remain his secret.
Ich Dien. The prince's motto is 'I serve' and the message from Clarence House following claims Charles sees kingship as a prison is that his main duty remains to dutifully support his mother and his monarch
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