I have to make a horrible confession. As I’ve been using and reusing old photos of Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles, I keep getting caught off-guard by the fact that Charles really wasn’t bad-looking when he was younger. The way people used to go on and on about his looks, you would think that he was a gargoyle. He was not! He just had big ears and a terrible hairstyle. Obviously, the conversation about his looks was made so much worse when he married such a stunningly beautiful woman in his first marriage. Diana would have made anyone look like a gargoyle compared to her, but Charles’ terrible personality made him even uglier in that period. Well, within the Earl Spencer’s Swan Song, Spencer shared a story about how then-Prince Charles always wanted to get his ears fixed but his father, Prince Philip, always refused.
Earl Charles Spencer included a bizarre anecdote in his new book about the late Queen Elizabeth II “contemplating the possibility of having Prince Charles’s ears pinned back a little by a doctor”. The book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, hit bookshelves today, after weeks of serialisation in the media.
One previously unread section alleged that Diana told her younger brother about the late Queen’s reported contemplation about surgically altering King Charles’s ears.
Earl Spencer wrote: “Another of Diana’s revelations I found even stranger. Apparently, Prince Philip had learnt that the Queen was contemplating the possibility of having Prince Charles’s ears pinned back a little by a doctor; their protrusion had led to him being teased at school and mocked in the media. Philip not only stopped the medical procedure from being considered further, but he also had one of the Queen’s corgis’ ears operated on. This was to serve as some sort of lasting reminder of a plan that Prince Philip had decided was ridiculous for its softness and vanity.”
“While I have no idea if these disturbing tales were true, Diana believed them. They evidently made her feel both desperately sad for, and fiercely protective of, Prince Charles, even though he was a dozen years her senior.”
Yeah, one of the saddest parts about Diana and Charles’ shambolic marriage is that she *genuinely* adored him and she also felt sorry for him. Initially, she thought he was a wounded bird, in need of her tenderness. Given Charles’ deep well of self-pity and self-regard, Diana’s sympathy and adoration would have been great for their marriage. If only she wasn’t such a star, if only she wasn’t so beautiful and charismatic. Luckily, Charles’ second wife also came with sympathy and adoration, but no beauty, charm or charisma. As for the ear thing… it’s a well-known piece of gossip, sort of – I’ve heard versions of “QEII was open to fixing Charles’ ears but Philip said no.” I’ve never heard the corgi part though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- HRH PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES Attending the “Live Aid for Africa” concert at Wembley Stadium COMPULSORY CREDIT: UPPA/Photoshot Photo CFK 194703 13.07.1985,Image: 502725128, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call Photoshot Global HQ – London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , also New York Office Tel : + 1 646-429-8731 and Hamburg Office Tel +49 (0)40 530 240 5959, Model Release: no, Credit line: Photoshot / Avalon
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- Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, visit Canada Diana is wearing a Catherine Walker suit and a hat by Graham Smith at Kangol City Hall, Prince George, British Columbia,Image: 513291383, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: John Shelley Collection / Avalon
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- The Duke of Edinburgh attends a reception for winners of The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 513778764, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- (170803) — LONDON, Aug 2, 2017 () — Britain’s Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, reacts as he attends a parade in the role of Royal Marines’ Captain General for the last time at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain on Aug. 2, 2017. Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, carries out his final solo public engagement Wednesday before he retires from royal duties. (/Pool) -UK OUT-,Image: 513992572, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS excluding China- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: han yan / Avalon
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- 166873, The Princess Royal, Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of York at the funeral of Countess Mountbatten of Burma at St.Paul’s church in Knightsbridge. London, United Kingdom – Tuesday June 27, 2017. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © Stephen Lock, i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 533054215, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, visit Canada. Edmonton,Image: 536837435, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: John Shelley Collection / Avalon
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- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JULY 31: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is presented with a teddy bear for Prince George of Cambridge during a visit to the 132nd Sandringham Flower Show at Sandringham House on July 31, 2013 in King’s Lynn, England.,Image: 547169888, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, visit West Wales Barmouth Naming of a new lifeboat ‘RNLB Princess of Wales’ Diana’s coat dress is made of tan coloured checked wool with brown leather cuffs and collar and was designed by designer Arabella Pollen.,Image: 549312049, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no , Credit line: John Shelley Collection/Avalon
Well, God forbid he should make his son’s life a little bit easier. Philip could be such a jackass.
And “Earl Charles Spencer”?? Drives me batty when even the Brits can’t get titles right.
It’s all just more evidence that PP was an a****** — cruel to children and small dogs. Gross,
On the plus side, I’m wondering whether KC had some subtle ear pinning work done, in which case good for him. Now maybe he could express more generosity of spirit?
PP was truly disgusting. Can you imagine your husband maiming your pet to punish you for have empathy for your children?
What is his actual title?
I’ve seen it written as Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer.
Maybe he has additional middle names. Not sure why the Spencer might be repeated twice though.
The Right Honorable the 9th Earl Spencer
Maybe if you compare younger Charles to his older self he doesn’t look so bad as a young man. But generally speaking he was not handsome. Between his eyes being so close together, his nose, and his ears, he was just an odd looking man. Seems he got the short end of the genetic stick.
Inbreeding.
All the worst of Queen Mary’s genes. But his hair really did not help.
I think he wasn’t bad-looking for the time period in which he was young.
People were kind of more natural-looking and less plastic looking back then. A man being extremely good-looking like Robert Redford seemed like more of a rarity. Even now, I think its kind of rare to see an exceptionally good-looking man. Men are more polished looking nowadays, but do I ever think most of the ones I see look like Robert Redford or JFK JR? Not really.
@THINKING no. he was not good looking, for any eras. I first got interested in the Royals because I thought as a kid that QEII was absolutely stunning. Seeing Prince Charles absolutely crushed my thought that all prince charmings were handsome.
I should say, that in my opinion, I do not think he was particularly bad looking.
Up until maybe his elderly years, he was generally fit/slim with a flat stomach, and his face didn’t have anything about it that I would consider terribly-awful.
I don’t think he’s the most handsome man ever or anything like that and I don’t think he would be in the category of iconically handsome like whichever movie star floats a person’s boat, but I wouldn’t put him in the ugly category at all. There are a lot worse looking people out there.
I do think Andrew was overrated though. He wasn’t ugly but when people act like he was startlingly handsome, I don’t really get it. But he is pretty gross, so that doesn’t help.
Diana was better looking, but when she and Charles stood together it wasn’t like looking at a mismatch like Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis.
Came here to say that. I am 2 years older than Diana and the first I paid any attention to the royal family was when she stepped on the scene. I saw her first and all the buzz about the marriage. When I got a look at him I was like “ooofff”. He was not good looking back then, at least not to an American. I wondered why he waited so long to marry and came to the conclusion he played around but then needed a virgin. But I did wonder why I hadn’t heard of a stream of women dating him. Then later there were rumors (yes way back then) of his “mainly gay” tendencies.
Agreed, he was never handsome. He was only a prince, that’s all. Poor Willy’s looks lasted about 10 minutes.
I like to think that Diana snatched William’s good looks back when he repeatedly showed his ass as a lazy, violent bigot.
He looks very much like his hideous looking ancestors, the older he gets.
This story was also in the Housekeeper’s Diary. Princess Margaret suggested that Charles get his ears fixed. Philip just scoffed at the idea.
His ears weren’t and aren’t his main problem. His personality is.
True.
He used to get called Jug Ears.
That’s Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen sitting behind them in the top photo!
I agree. I think being diana , it makes him less worthy and it highlight his flaw. The same thing with jeff bezos because with his current wife , he looks very decent and well out and ppl are busy appalled by his wife looks and dress. In that way all their attention on her not him. With his ex wife and any beauty young model ( which usually men goes for ) will highlight will highlight with insecure features like his height , baldness etc. Thats why both jeff and chuck chose their wives who looks very different .
I’d like to know more about the animal abuse angle here?? What happened to the corgi?!?!?! What is wrong with these people???
I can’t see charles giving a damn about the dog, so I assume it was done to punish the queen for considering the surgery. Her genuine love for her dogs was probably her only redeeming feature, tbh. Still reeks of animal cruelty! What an arsemonger!
Yeah, that jumped out at me, too.
What the hell?
In a small way I can see how Charles had a terrible life: his father bullied him brazenly, callously, and unremittingly, and his mother was just a cold fish who had no maternal feeling for her kids. But having said that, many people of Charles’ generation and class would have had very similar experiences. You could even make the case that Charles Spencer had some of the same experiences, at school, and his recollections of a few of his and Diana’s nannies are simply horrifying. One of them secretly administered laxatives to his two older sisters (why??) and thankfully their mother sacked the woman on the spot when she realised what was going on. Then there was another nanny who used to quite literally bash Charles & Diana’s heads together when they were wee small kiddies (why???) or — on other days — just bash their heads into the wall. Horror stories. Then the Spencer parents underwent an acrimonious hurtful divorce, all whilst their two youngest children were incredibly vulnerable. At a time when divorce was frowned upon, judged severely, as were the people involved, and the children were just collateral to that social taboo. And yet. And yet. Charles Spencer — after his horrifying school life and painful home life — has emerged with principles, integrity, and grit, as well as courage.
Diana had learning difficulties, and after reading the book I wonder if her head being bashed so many times played a role in that. It’s horrifying.
I actually jumped/gasped at the parts about their heads being violently slammed against the walls or each other’s heads…JFC.
When she became Princess of Wales, Diana was an apt learner. She picked up new languages, researched before she did tours. She did write that she froze up at exams and could not complete them. This was something apparently not looked into during her school years.
They were abused?? This makes me so sad to learn.
@Delphine, in the book, Diana’s brother explains how one of their nannies used to punish them by slamming their heads either into a wall, or into each other’s heads. Hard. It was horrifying.
Why did Charles need Philip’s permission to get his ears fixed, especially after Charles was 21?
What I’m curious about is whether William wanted to do something about his hair when he started losing it…nip it in the bud as soon as it started thinning, before it got so bad, but maybe the Queen forbade any treatment for that, too?
Wondering the same thing. Philip sounds like an ogre. But Charles could have gotten his own ears fixed.
I wondering if he chose not to because it would have been too noticeable if he did.
We act like pinning his ears back would have solved something for him, but I feel the media would have made fun of him (due to him being a man) if he had gotten it done. Maybe the mocking would have been worse.
He might be fine with how he looks despite what others think. We’re all vain to some degree, but sometimes fixing something that isn’t causing undue distress might not be worth someone’s time.
Charles was raised to obey the monarch and to respect that he was their property. If Philip said no, then the Queen supported that, and Charles could not openly defy the decision. With that mentality is it any wonder that none of them could imagine that Harry would willingly choose to support his wife and walk away from being a working royal ? Unthinkable!
Thought same! Aren’t you legally an adult?
I mean, caricaturists would always have found something to mock about Charles- but it does tell you something about how much QEII thought about the family’s image and about the damage likely done by Philip’s fears about his son not living up to some far off misogynistic ideal. He was always looking to “toughen” his son up.
This article doesn’t say when this conversation would have happened, but the comments about Charles being made fun of by his schoolmates makes me think it was a young Charles, maybe even a teen? And sure, maybe he hadn’t reached his age of majority and had to rely on his parents to approve expensive cosmetic surgery. But this is a story told to Earl Spencer from Diana, who would have heard it from a 30-something then-Prince of Wales. By then, he would have had access to pots of money. If he wanted to get his ears done, he could have – he certainly didn’t need his parents’ approval. I think it says something about Charles that he was evidently telling this story to Diana many years later and still bitter about it. It reminds me of the current Prince of Wales who is still frothing at the mouth that Harry got to be married while wearing a beard. Neither of these petulant men should be in charge of anything!
I think this anecdote was probably chosen to garner sympathy for Charles Windsor, but to me it just emphasizes how rotten the monarchy is for everyone inside of it. Let’s get rid of it!
Reading your comment made me realize that I hold some abusive and misogynistic beliefs, because while I agree with your observation of Phillip’s treatment of Charles (and the whole rotten system), my immediate reaction to, “He was always looking to “toughen” his son up”. Was, “HE BLOODY WELL NEEDED TOUGHENING UP!”
Pheww lemme go lie down somewhere 😆
Maybe. Or maybe it was less about image — and more about her son upset at being teased, with a mother who view it as a potentially fixable problem. Only today did it occur to me to wonder if Charles might have looked much better if he’d had a better or at least different haircut.
I feel like I’ve heard a few of these kinds of stories now where the royal parents forbade the royal spawn from doing something or other, and I don’t understand why he didn’t just do it anyway. I realize there would be certain obstacles, but it seems to me doable if he really had the desire to do so. I mean, the man was forbidden from seeing Camilla and he did that for decades in plain sight. An hour of outpatient surgery would not have been a huge mountain to climb.
YankeeDoodles, totally. And Princess Diana emerged as a heroic, compassionate, brave woman after all the abuse, humiliation and sadism from Charles. She rose above it to become one of the most admired people of her generation. I hope it eats at Charles that Diana will always be remembered for who she was, despite Charles and that he will be overshadowed by her in history and known only for his cruelty to both Diana and Harry, if he is not forgotten altogether, as he hoped Diana would be.
I think it’s safe to say it definitely eats away at Charles. I mean, Diana is *still* more beloved the world over than KFC or his disgusting wife will ever be, and he knows it. Serves him right for spending his entire life being so petty and jealous.
I’m appalled with the story about the Corgi. It’s monstrous to do something like that just to prove a point, but also it damages the dog.
I couldn’t agree more.
I mean, Charles was always going to look like a twit, because he is a twit, but why put a defenseless dog through an unnecessary medical procedure to win an argument?
Philip comes across as a monster here (and he likely was, despite his few good moments as a grandfather).
I’m suspicious about that part of the story. What veterinarian would operate on one of The Queen’s beloved corgis with her express instruction? Especially when the surgery was exclusively cosmetic?
I am very much on Charles’ side here. Let the kid get his ears tweaked a little, my god. Philip was a handsome man and had no idea what it was like to have your appearance mocked. His childhood was rough in many ways so he thought his son’s had to be too. But come on. They’re just ears.
That said, as others have pointed out, Charles really should have just fixed them himself once he came of age. Continuing to whinge about it without actually doing anything about it was a choice.
Did he actually want to fix his ears? The excerpt says the Queen wanted to fix them, but I can’t tell if he wanted to.
I’ve never heard him publicly complain about his ears (and I have my doubts he would as people would tell him to think about all the privileges he has that make up for the ears). If he complained to Diana, well, that makes sense. That’s stuff I kind of would expect people to mention to their spouses. Maybe both Diana and Camilla told him his ears were fine, and he got over it.
I assume he would have been happy to have his ears fixed as a child. He was bullied at school. Normal ears would have taken away one thing to mock him.
When he was an adult he had no problem finding a girlfriend, cultivated his interests, was always a sharp dresser, I doubt he still cared about having his ears fixed. He very likely told Diana the story when they compared notes about their horrible childhoods. The one thing they had in common. Both weren’t happy children. Too bad that was pretty much all they had in common. Even if she would have been homely and not triggered his jealousy, they wouldn’t have a happy marriage. They simply were too different. They never were friends, sharing the same interests and hobbies. She disliked what he liked and vice versa. Doomed from the start.
My stepfather met Charles in the 1980s and reported the ears stuck out much worse in real life than in photographs.
It’s well-known that Phillip believed Charles was weak and effeminate. I think Phillip was afraid Charles was gay, therefore Charles “needed” adversity in order to toughen up.
I have to be perversely honest, the more I hear about Philip and Elizabeth as parents, the more I like them as people. They had a son who was a twit. They treated him accordingly. They had a daughter who was grounded and suffered no fools. Ditto. They had another son who appeared to tick all the boxes the first born should have ticked, but, alas, he turned into a middle aged entitled buffoon. They seem to have reacted mostly correctly — they stripped him of his duties, pensioned him off (that would be them taking responsibility and limiting the damage his corruption caused) and finally offered his most visible victim a genuinely stunning sum in compensation for her ordeal, which gave her the ultimate validation, no one could say she was exaggerating after accepting £12 million from the Queen of England. That money should have let her live out the rest of her life with her children in peace and freedom. In Virginia’s tragedy, the late Queen comes across as virtually the only decent person apart from Melinda French (ex-Gates). Edward… is married with kids, and Elizabeth seems to have genuinely supported Sophie, even when Sophie was caught on camera bad-mouthing her. She also supported Diana. It would never have been possible for Diana to do the work she did, to maintain the high profile she had, to travel the world, or represent the monarchy, without Elizabeth’s support. She told her once, in exasperation, “Charles is hopeless,” which was accurate. She tried. Philip was a bully, but if I had to choose between Philip and Charles, I would say Charles was much, much worse: he is underhanded and smug and vindictive and petty. Philip was just domineering. But he had principles. Charles Spencer’s description of Philip taking charge of the funeral procession is the most illuminating sketch of the father-son dynamic I’ve read, ever.
Why are these rich people always asking permission to get medical & psychological treatments? Just take your fat checkbook and get whatever treatment you want or need. Daddy/granny/spouse/men in gray do not need to give you permission.
Hahahahhahhahaa. Glorious gossip 🤭
” I have to make a horrible confession. As I’ve been using and reusing old photos of Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles, I keep getting caught off-guard by the fact that Charles really wasn’t bad-looking when he was younger” – I feel exactly the same way—but back then, Charles was really far from what people considered handsome (Brad Pitt). He seemed awkward and old-fashioned, and my younger self could never see even a spark of attractiveness in him. I really wondered what was wrong with me, and I came to the conclusion that I’m obviously old enough now to be impressed by anyone’s youth. Scary!
I think Charles was required to be extremely well-groomed because he was a prince/royal/aristocrat. In some ways that did make him seem old-fashioned. But I do think that type of look probably makes me take a person seriously as head of state. I’m not sure I’d take a “sexy” prince or head of state seriously.
William had a tantrum about not being allowed to grow a beard, IIRC? I don’t think that little fuzz suits him, but I find it ridiculous that a man has to ask his grandmother if he can grow a beard.
Tart au Citron, you’re right. Why would a grown man have to ask his grandmother if he can grow a beard? That’s really odd, which is one word for it.
I think it had something to do with his military regiment and the uniform he wore at his wedding — with some allowing beards when they’re in uniform and others not allowing it. So it’s more like someone in the military asking the commander in chief for an exception with the uniform— even though in this case, the CIC was also his grandmother. Having seen pictures of Prince Philip looking quite dishy in a beard in his relative youth, I think the Queen may have realized that, as a future king, William’s pictures would be around forever, so she decided that posterity would appreciate the beardless photos.