King Charles previously reflected on a scandal that saw him launched into the headlines, claiming the fallout felt like it could prove “the end of the world”.
The 74-year-old monarch – who is the focus of Channel 5 documentary King Charles: His Mother’s Son airing tonight (August 19) – has endured several controversial moments over the years, ranging from issues surrounding his divorce from Princess Diana, to the ‘Black Spider’ memos, and speculation over his relationship with second son Prince Harry and daughter-in-law Meghan Markle.
In the opinion of many observers, Charles has enjoyed a remarkable transformation to his reputation in recent years.
But one of his very earliest uncomfortable moments covered by the press tends not to receive as much attention as other eyebrow-raising examples of royal behaviour have subsequently.
King Charles… and a very early ‘scandal’
That may be because the ‘scandal’ in question happened six decades ago.
Back when he was 14, the then-Prince Charles was apparently overheard ordering an alcoholic drink in a pub. It wasn’t entirely clear why a tabloid journalist was on hard to eavesdrop in a Scottish pub containing the future monarch.
But it caused quite a kerfuffle when Buckingham Palace initially denied the report before later going on to admit it contained elements of truth.
Prince Charles ‘caught in a pub aged 14’
Charles was a pupil at Gordonstoun School in Moray in 1963 when his request for a tot of cherry brandy made the news. He had travelled to the Isle of Lewis town on June 17 on the boarding school training ship the Pinta.
Dinner had been arranged at the Crown Hotel, with plans to later see a film at the Stornoway Playhouse.
However, Charles reportedly tagged along with a group of older lads for a quick drink. It’s said he’d never tasted alcohol until then – apart from when the Queen gave him cherry brandy before a hunt.
‘I said the first drink that came into my head’
Charles reportedly spent two shillings and sixpence on that illicit sip. But his taste of underage drinking also cost him a few worries.
The incident was also covered in 2017 biography Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life.
According author Sally Bedell Smith, Charles previously reflected: “I said the first drink that came into my head because I’d drunk it before, when it was cold, out shooting.”
I thought it was the end of the world.
He is said to have added: “I have never been able to forgive them for doing that. I thought it was the end of the world.”
However, as well as unwanted headlines, Charles’ teenage boozing also led to changes in how he went about his life. It impacted upon how he was protected as his then-bodyguard Don Green lost his job due to the scandal.
Read more: King Charles urged to strip Prince Harry of his royal title and block him from ever becoming monarch
King Charles: His Mother’s Son airs on Channel 5, Saturday August 19, at 6.45pm.
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