Mandelson's Tough Love for Charles: A Royal Image Struggle

0:00On March 21st, a royal author has revealed that Peter Mandelson gave then Prince Charles some tough love on his public image right after the divorce. From Princess Diana, in his memoir, Mandelson described a private lunch at Hygrove, set up by Charles's aide Mark Bowland, just three weeks before Diana's death in 1997. He told Charles that people saw him as glum and dispirited, which was hurting his popularity. Charles was desperate to fix his reputation and boost Camilla's image, too, since she was widely disliked back then. He brought in Bowland, a sharp spin Dr. Nicknamed, Black Atter, by Princess William and Harry, to handle the media. Bowland worked on slow efforts like photo ops and events to soften views on Camilla. Charles took Mandelson's candid words and stride, even appreciating the honesty amid his low approval ratings. Diana had dominated public sympathy with her savvy media plays, leaving Charles and Camilla playing catch-up. Fast forward, Mandelson faces his own scandals, including arrests on suspicion of misconduct

1:01in public office over alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Photos show him with Epstein, and even Prince Andrew, barefoot on Martha's Vineyard. He also backed Andrew for a key trade envoy role in 2001, despite Charles's worries about his brother's habits. Both Mandelson and Andrew deny wrongdoing, with investigations ongoing as King Charles reportedly eyes changes to the line of succession. This old advice session sheds new light on royal image struggles that still echo today.