Prince Charles : the passions and paradoxes of an improbable life / Sally Bedell Smith.
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Random House, [2017]Copyright date: ©2017Edition: First editionDescription: xxii, 596 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 25 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781400067909
- 1400067901
- 941.085092 B 23
- DA591.A33 S55 2017
Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Bedford Public Library Biography | Biography | BIO CHARLES SMI | Available | 32500001725572 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The life and loves of Prince Charles are illuminated in a major new biography from the New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen --perfect for fans of The Crown .
Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest heir to the throne in more than three hundred years. This vivid, eye-opening biography--the product of four years of research and hundreds of interviews with palace officials, former girlfriends, spiritual gurus, and more, some speaking on the record for the first time--is the first authoritative treatment of Charles's life that sheds light on the death of Diana, his marriage to Camilla, and his preparations to take the throne one day.
Prince Charles brings to life the real man, with all of his ambitions, insecurities, and convictions. It begins with his lonely childhood, in which he struggled to live up to his father's expectations and sought companionship from the Queen Mother and his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten. It follows him through difficult years at school, his early love affairs, his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his intense search for spiritual meaning. It tells of the tragedy of his marriage to Diana; his eventual reunion with his true love, Camilla; and his relationships with William, Kate, Harry, and his grandchildren.
Ranging from his glamorous palaces to his country homes, from his globe-trotting travels to his local initiatives, Smith shows how Prince Charles possesses a fiercely independent spirit and yet has spent more than six decades waiting for his destined role, living a life dictated by protocols he often struggles to obey. With keen insight and the discovery of unexpected new details, Smith lays bare the contradictions of a man who is more complicated, tragic, and compelling than we knew, until now.
Praise for Prince Charles
"[Smith] understands the British upper classes and aristocracy (including the royals) very well indeed. . . . [She] makes many telling, shrewd points in pursuit of realigning the popular image of Prince Charles." --William Boyd, The New York Times Book Review
"[A] masterly account." -- The Wall Street Journal
"Thoroughly researched and insightful . . . In this profile, it is clear [Smith] got inside the circular barriers that protect the man and his position. The Charles that emerges is, as the subtitle suggests, both a paradox and a creature of his passions." -- The Washington Times
"[A] compellingly juicy bio . . . Windsor-philes will be mesmerized." -- People
" Prince Charles paints an affectingly human portrait. . . . Smith writes about [Charles's life] with a skill and sympathy she perfected in her 2012 biography of Charles's mother." -- The Christian Science Monitor
"Comprehensive and admirably fair . . . Until his accession to the throne, Smith's portrait will stand as the definitive study."-- Booklist (starred review)
"[A] fascinating book that is not just about a man who would be king, but also about the duties that come with privilege." --Walter Isaacson
"Sally Bedell Smith has given us a complete and compelling portrait of the man in the shadow of the throne. It's all here, from the back stairs of the palaces to the front pages of the tabs." --Tom Brokaw
Includes bibliographical references (pages [515]-569) and index.
The lonely schoolboy -- Cold showers in the morning -- Heir to a fortune -- Nixon plays matchmaker -- The shadow of Camilla -- Wild oats -- Searching for meaning -- Prince without a princess -- Diana snares her man -- Glamour and heartache -- Naming and shaming -- A marriage in shambles -- Dangerous liaisons -- Butterfly mind -- Midlife melancholy -- Timeless principles -- Love tape -- Diana's revenge -- Wounded feelings -- Scarlet A -- Three in a marriage -- Breathing the same air -- Tragedy in Paris -- No ordinary pilgrim -- Media makeover -- Out of the shadows -- Cracking the ice -- Deaths in the family -- Blackadder's revenge -- Hitched at last -- Camilla joins the firm -- Royal infighting -- A prince in full -- Rising sons -- On the defensive -- The magnificent seven -- Rehearsing new roles -- The shadow king's legacy -- "Don't ever stop".
Sally Bedell Smith brings us the first authoritative treatment of Charles, Prince of Wales that brings to life the real man, with all of his ambitions, insecurities, and convictions. It follows him through his lonely childhood, his difficult years at school, his early love affairs, his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his intense search for spiritual meaning. It sheds light on the tragedy of his first marriage, the death of Diana, his marriage to Camilla, his relationships with William, Kate, Harry, and his grandchildren, and his preparations to take the throne one day, after more than six decades of waiting. -- adapted from book jacket.
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Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Born Charles Philip Arthur George in 1948, England's Prince Charles is arguably one of the most recognizable people in the world. If asked about him, many might immediately mention his late first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, and describe the scandals and tragedy that enveloped them both in the 1990s. Or they would know about his unshakable love for Camilla Parker-Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, whom he finally married in 2005, and who seems to have brought him happiness. Readers also are familiar with Charles as the heir apparent to the throne, patiently waiting to ascend to king, but whose mother, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned for more than six decades. In this biography, historian and frequent biographer Smith (Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch) presents a multidimensional portrait of a complex, sensitive, and often visionary man (his ideas about sustainable living were once considered eccentric), who has carved out a dynamic public role as he waits his turn to govern. VERDICT Intimate but not gossipy, this highly accessible and thoroughly researched volume would do well in all collections. [See Prepub Alert, 10/17/16.]-Penelope J.M. Klein, Fayetteville, NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In this comprehensive and admirably fair biography, Smith (Elizabeth the Queen, 2012) observes that many believe that the heir to the British throne, who, after all, has been ready to succeed his revered mother for many years, has lived a life of frustration. Instead, Smith's copious research including extensive interviews with individuals close to Prince Charles or involved in his initiatives in the economic, social, and architectural fields finds that his long days as a king-in-waiting have actually been full of projects that are important to him and which he feels contribute to the good of the country. Yet Charles is also seen as insecure and isolated within the bubble of his privilege. Smith suggests that Charles is poorly understood and seeks to rectify that by explaining Charles' life choices and finding the sources of his insecurities. His father, Prince Philip, took a misguided approach in his attempt to toughen his son; Charles' mother has found it difficult to show love or even indicate approval. Marriage to Lady Diana Spencer was, sadly, a clash of two personalities which brought forward the worst of each. But now the prince has found love and comfort with his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Until his accession to the throne, Smith's portrait will stand as the definitive study.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2017 BooklistKirkus Book Review
A sympathetic psychological study of the prince who has been working tirelessly all his life to be taken seriously.Having written previously on other members of the modern English dynasty (Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, 2012, etc.), British biographer Smith provides plenty of astute observations in her biography of the Prince of Wales, who is now 68. His 90-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is finally slowing down and deputizing some of her tasks to her eldest son, although she has no intention of abdicating. After espousing vociferously and often controversially throughout his life on causes he is passionate aboutorganic farming and other environmental issues, traditional architecture versus modern, creating opportunity and education for disadvantaged youth, alternative medicine and homeopathy, among many othersCharles seems to be toning down his rhetoric in preparation for the establishment of a more disciplined tone, la his efficient, well-loved mother. Smith is not the first biographer to depict the young prince as love-starved, lonely, and emotionally vulnerable, although her portrait is enormously touching and supported by wide-ranging interviews and research. Elizabeth's hands-off approach to child-raising, Charles' father's bullying, the hypercriticism of the press, and his position of impotence within the royal succession all colluded in pushing him into a disastrous first marriage with a far-too-young, inexperienced, and emotionally damaged soul, Diana Spencer. In fact, he always loved and needed the one woman who bolstered his confidence, listened to him, and shared his pursuits, the married Camilla Parker-Bowles. Indeed, Smith portrays Camilla in a very generous light and Diana as seriously psychologically impaired. Throughout, the author traces the roots of Charles' many fascinating and beneficial "obsessions"; he was a prescient prince who scorned the playboy label and tried valiantly to do something good with his wealth and connections. A thorough, timely biography of the man likely to become king in the next decade or so. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Sally Bedell Smith is a historian and bestselling author of biographies of William S. Paley, Pamela Harriman, Diana Princess of Wales, John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.Smith is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. She has worked at Time and The New York Times, where she was a cultural news reporter.
(Bowker Author Biography)