When King Charles III was a mere prince in his 40’s, he had valets taking care of his teddy bear, according to a new book due out Nov. 8 by Christopher Andersen.
The King: The Life of Charles III will reveal numerous other oddities and events, showcasing the life of a spoiled man who couldn’t control his temper and didn’t seem to care to.
One of the odd reveals is that the King still travels with his childhood teddy bear. Way back when the King was just a Prince in his 40’s, he still had multiple people looking after his beloved teddy, including royal valet Michael Fawcett. When it was clear that the teddy needed a bit of repair, Fawcett had to contact the former royal nanny, Mabel Andersen, who was the only one that the Prince trusted to repair the toy. The book claims, “Every time that teddy needed to be repaired, you would think it was his own child having major surgery.”
Former royal valet Ken Stronach confirms in the book that part of his job was to tuck both the Prince and his teddy bear into bed. Stronach also had the enviable job of being in charge of the prince’s underwear, amongst other things.
In the book, Stronach retells a famous story to the author that the royal valet has told multiple times before about when the then-Prince of Wales was at a friend’s house and lost his cufflink in the bathroom.
Andersen relays it in the book as follows:
“Flying into a blind rage, he (Prince Charles) pulled the sink off the wall, then smashed it, looking for the cufflink. Unable to find the missing piece of jewelry, a wild-eyed Prince of Wales spun around and grabbed his valet by the throat. Stronach broke free, darted out a side door – and into a linen closet. Terrified, he huddled there for thirty minutes before he could hear Charles leave the bathroom.”
Stronach once retold this story by detailing that he slowly crept away form the Prince during his anger fit, backing up into what he hoped was a door to another room that would lead him outside. Unfortunately he did back up into a door and escaped but only to the other side of that door because it was just a small closet. So, he stayed there, frozen, not daring to leave the cupboard for a lengthy time.
Presently, the King’s reign is off to a cruel start but perhaps it’s no surprise. It says a lot about a King, then Prince, that as an adult he would treat his teddy bear better than his valet. Surely, the King dare not assault his beloved teddy. That’s a line that even the King wouldn’t cross.
