The Royal family have had many scandalous relationships in the past which made the headlines for several tabloids. Be it the relationship of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who did manage to keep their marriage going but it was not a cake walk for the Queen to be with Phillip who was an emotionally unavailable man. Or how Prince Charles was treated by his father.
Elizabeth was crowed as the Queen in 192, when Charles was only 3. Since she had a lot of responsibilities as Queen, Philip, still being the man of the house took care of Charles. As a father, he loved his firstborn, and so fulfilled his son's wish of being outdoors and learning about the environment. Philip taught Charles how to fish, shoot, swim and other father-son-activities.
In a book written by Jonathan Dimbleby, Prince of Wales: A Biography (1994) Charles remembered his childhood differently. "I was being cowed by the forceful personality of my father," he said.
Philip himself was raised in a tough environment and he believed that his son too should be brought in a similar manner, "I want him to be a man's man," said Philip at multiple occasions, according to reports from Enews.
Friends and family close to the Royal couple remembered Philip's "bullying" or "belittling" behaviour toward Charles. Philip even went against the Queen's suggestion of a school for Charles and sent him to Gordonstoun in Scotland, where Charles suffered through the initial months of joining. But Philip never gave in and forced him to stay there.
In Tim Clayton's 2001 book Diana: Story of a Princess, Penny Junor a biographer said, "Prince Philip is bluff, outspoken, hearty, and tough and something of a bully."
"He has no patience with his eldest son's soul-searching. Sensitivity is not one of the qualities he expects in a man, and although he undoubtedly has great affection for Prince Charles, he has spent a lifetime criticising him and quietly undermining his self-esteem," she added.
Charles did grow up to become a 'man's man' but he did have a sensitive side to him. Charles had many girlfriends before he found 'the one', Camilla Parker Bowles. He fell in love with her but could not marry her as she was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, an Army Major.
Philip advised his son to settle down and get married. For which Diana seemed perfect. Charles and Diana started their romance which hit all tabloids in a positive manner.
After a year of their relationship, Philip then sent a letter to Charles saying, he will have to choose soon. Either he breaks up with Diana or he has to marry her. Looking back we can say that his decision of marrying her was not the best.
His affair with Camilla was not well conceived from the media. That's when Philip sent another letter saying, "If your marriage doesn't work out, you can always go back to her after five years." This was told by late Princes Diana herself in one of her interviews but it was revealed only in 2017 as a Channel 4 special.
Diana knew that her husband was having an affair but she did nothing about it as Philip wrote multiple letters stated that royalty and loyalty is very important and talking to the press about it was not a good idea. The couple was advised to compromise and live with each other. He saught to his father's advice. "What are dads for, if not to advise their sons on how to get their jollies without embarrassing the family?," said Philip to his son.
Charles decided that he could not be with her and that he wanted to be with Camilla. That's when Philip wrote another letter to Diana stating, "We never dreamed he might feel like leaving you for her. I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla. Such a prospect never even entered our heads." In another letter, however, he seemingly pondered what Diana could've done differently, asking, "Can you honestly look into your heart and say that Charles's relationship with Camilla had nothing to do with your behaviour towards him in your marriage?"
Diana never shredded any of the letters, said the Royal butler, Paul Burrell who wrote in his 2003 book 'A Royal Duty'. She kept all the letters safely with her for the sake of evidence.
The couple did have two children, William and Harry, who were raised very well by Charles. Even though his childhood was rough, he made sure they were treated well.
