5. “Does he always do that thing with you?” That was the question put by Charles to then Prime Minister Tony Blair, about Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The author says Prescott was in a “class of his own when it came to discomfiting Charles”.<\/p>\n
Charles is said to have explained: “When he’s sitting opposite you, he slides down the seat with his legs apart, his crotch pointing a little menacingly, and balances his teacup and saucer on his tummy. It’s very odd.”<\/p>\n
“Was it, asked Charles, a ‘sign of hostility or class enmity?’ No, said Blair. ‘He just likes drinking his tea that way,” writes Low.<\/p>\n
6. ‘Hardball’ over funding. The book reveals negotiations over public funding for the royals when the Sovereign Grant was introduced in 2012 – and presents the Palace as cannier about money than their counterparts in Westminster. <\/p>\n
When concerns were raised that the link with the Crown Estate profits might prove over-generous, and was likely to inflate the value of the annual grant, Low says the Palace played “hardball” and stuck to the deal.<\/p>\n
As the BBC showed earlier this year, there was indeed a significant increase over time, with public funding trebling in real terms<\/a>, to pay for repairs to Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n 7. Coronation showcase. It was the government, rather than the Palace, that wanted to make sure that the Coronation of King Charles III in 2022 was a well-funded spectacle.<\/p>\n While the Palace was wary of anything too ostentatious when people were struggling to pay their bills, the “very clear guidance” from government was there should be no cut-price ceremony and that there should be a “maximalist” approach.<\/p>\n