Why Prince Charles Felt Like A Disappointment To Prince Philip, Royal Family

Prince Charles will be the king of England someday but while growing up, he reportedly felt like a disappointment to his father, Prince Philip, and the rest of the royal family.

Although Prince Charles previously revealed his father was a tough disciplinarian throughout his childhood, royal biographer Jonathan Dimbleby noted an incident behind closed doors made the young prince second guess his self-worth.

According to Dimbleby, Prince Charles was a fan of art as a child and wanted his family to take note of the Leonardo da Vinci drawings displayed in the library at Windsor Castle.

However, they did not share his enthusiasm which made Charles feel “squashed and guilty,” as if he “in some indefinable way let his family down.”

In Sally Bedell Smith’s book “Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life,” the author claimed, “Prince Philip wasn’t pleased with the fact that Prince Charles appeared to be too soft and was worried that Charles could become weak and vulnerable, so he set about toughening him up.”

As a result, Charles was often “belittled” and “easily cowed by the forceful personality of his father.”

Years later, Prince Charles and Prince Philip appear to have a good relationship, however, the future king reportedly never fully let go of how his father made him feel as a boy.