Royal relationships
As King Charles returns to public duties following his cancer diagnosis, a book looks at the unique relationship he shared with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II
Having spent seven eventful decades as heir to the throne, it was inevitable that King Charles developed a unique relationship with his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Royal author and editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward witnessed this fascinating bond between mother and son, monarch and heir. In her new book, My Mother And I: The Inside Story Of The King And Our Late Queen, she reveals how the formality of Charles’s early life evolved into a loving relationship in The Queen’s later years.
‘When Charles spoke to Jonathan Dimbleby for his biography in 1994, the relationship between Charles and The Queen was painted in a negative way, but I know it changed a lot over the years, so I thought it would make an interesting topic for a book,’ says Ingrid. ‘The truth is, there was always a lot of love between mother and son, but it’s important to realise that society was so different when both The Queen and Charles were growing up.’
Ingrid believes becoming a monarch has seen Charles come into his own: ‘He seems much happier now he’s King. Much of this is down to Camilla, who’s allowed Charles to grow his human side. The public like that he seems to understand the difficulties people are facing.
‘Charles felt immense grief when his mother died; he feels great emotion about her and always will. But he will continue with his mother’s sense of duty and tradition while modernising the monarchy in the way he’s long promised.’
The birth of a prince
Charles was born on a foggy night on 14 November 1948 by Caesarean, but this was never officially disclosed. The Queen wrote to a friend: ‘The baby is very sweet and we are enormously proud of him.’ But she was even more impressed by his baby hands: ‘They are rather large, but fine with long fingers – quite unlike mine and certainly unlike his father’s. It will be interesting to see what they will become. I still find it difficult to believe I have a baby of my own!’
A tough start
Elizabeth breastfed her young son and Charles spent the first month of his life in a round wicker basket in the dressing room adjoining his mother’s bedroom. She then contracted measles and doctors advised that she and the baby stay apart – there was no measles vaccine in those days. Charles was taken away from his mother, who went to Sandringham to recuperate, and placed i
