With the new Prince Charles biography, Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, we’re sure to get some new information about the British Royals. Vogue gives us glimpse inside with 13 facts revealed by author Sally Bedell Smith.
Here are three I found particularly interesting
After Prince William and Kate Middleton got married, the dynamics within the royal family changed
Besides Prince Charles, the Queen and Prince Philip have three other children—Princess Royal Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. They’re a nuclear family, but since Prince William and Kate Middleton have added to the next generation in line for the throne, the royal family has become somewhat two-tiered. An example of this came during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee during a flotilla on the Thames. Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry joined the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Camilla Parker Bowles on their boat. Princess Anne, Princes Andrew and Edward, and their families rode down the river separately.
Prince Harry participated in at least one missile attack against the Taliban while he was deployed in Afghanistan
Prince Harry has done a fair amount of service, including being deployed to Afghanistan for a 4-month stretch. He was an Apache helicopter pilot and served as a copilot gunner in a missile attack on the Taliban.
The Queen’s death is now more of an open topic
A recent long-form article in The Guardian discussed the secret plan for what will happen when the Queen dies. But among the royal household and the royal family, the Queen apparently believes that an open discussion is “healthy and important.”
