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approached him were often those he liked least. It didn’t help that he was rather plump
and not particularly good at sport, the quickest road to popularity. Nor did it help his
self-esteem to have his father’s example before him – Prince Philip of Greece had been
first team goalkeeper and captain of the cricket XI. The behaviour of the newspapers
made life difficult for him and for everyone at the school. Journalists hung round
reportedly offering bribes for stories about Charles. ‘Even the school barber was in the
pay of the newspapers,’ Philip raged, and Elizabeth sent Colville into action again.
During the school holidays a meeting was held at Buckingham Palace for national
newspaper editors at which Colville warned them that either they stopped their
harassment at Cheam and printed only stories of genuine interest or the Queen would
withdraw her son and educate him at the Palace and the press would get the blame. It
worked, although the foreign paparazzi kept on trying and had to be chased off by the
Prince’s detective who had accompanied him to school. Charles got on all right, although
his best friend at school was the headmaster’s daughter, Mary Beck, the only girl there.
Much of the attempt to pretend that he was just like the others was spoiled by the
announcement while he was still at Cheam at the end of the summer term of 1958 that
Elizabeth had decided to create her son Prince of Wales. Elizabeth was ill after an
operation for sinusitis, but she had tape-recorded a message to be broadcast at the
opening by Philip of the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff:
I want to take this opportunity [she said] of speaking to all Welsh people, not only in this arena, but
wherever they may be. The British Empire and Commonwealth Games in the capital, together with all the
activities of the Festival of Wales, have made this a memorable year for the principality. I have therefore
decided to mark it further by an act which will, I hope, give as much pleasure to all Welshmen as it does to
me. I intend to create my son Charles Prince of Wales today. When he is grown up I will present him to you
at Caernarvon…
The nine-year-old boy sitting in front of the television with a group of classmates in
the headmaster’s study at Cheam had become Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and
Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Nobody had even thought of
warning him about it beforehand, which seems an extraordinary lack of sensitivity on
Elizabeth’s part. Perhaps she thought it would come as a welcome surprise, but if she
really wanted her son to be treated like any other schoolboy this television
announcement was hardly the way to do it. Elizabeth had had no school experience
herself and had very little idea of what schoolboys were like. Charles later recalled the
feelings of acute embarrassment he had felt at the time. There was no particular reason
why Elizabeth should have chosen this moment to create her son Prince of Wales; the
decision had been taken only a month before and its timing was due to the public
relations instincts of Harold Macmillan. At his audience on 25 June 1957 Elizabeth had
asked Macmillan’s advice about the creation of Charles as Prince of Wales. Macmillan
told her that ‘for the Queen to declare at some early date that it is Her intention to
create Prince Charles Prince of Wales would give very great pleasure, not only to the
people of Wales, but of course especially to them. It must be remembered that no one