Why King Charles III 'Vents His Fury'

King Charles III "vents his fury" at staff because "he acts as if his time is short," according to a newly updated royal biography.

Courtiers made headlines on its release in 2022 with its vivid account of bullying allegations against Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

The biography by Valentine Low, royal correspondent at The Times of London, is now being re-released in paperback with extra material covering the period since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

In an advance copy seen by Newsweek, Low describes an incident shortly after the queen's death, when Charles lost his temper with a pen.

"After the accession," he wrote, "the public saw a glimpse of Charles's temper when he had a minor explosion over a leaky pen; behind the scenes, his staff are used to such eruptions.

"He can vent his fury when things go wrong with his schedule, or when he feels that his instructions have not been obeyed, only to calm down moments later when he is assured that his instructions have been followed to the letter after all.

"'Oh, thank you so much,' he will say, the very image of gratitude and contrition. It is a rollercoaster ride, and those close to the king are used to it."

The king twice showed this side in the days after he lost his mother. During his proclamation and accession council, on September 10, 2022, he appeared frustrated that a desk had not been cleared of pens.

Charles lost his cool again four days later when his pen leaked as he signed a guest book in Northern Ireland.

He told his wife Camilla, "Oh God, I hate this pen," adding: "Can't bear this bloody thing."

As he walked away, he concluded: "[It's] what they do every stinking time."

Low suggests these outbursts are not uncommon for the king but are linked to the pressure he puts on himself.

"However, his impatience, according to some close to him has a deeper cause," he wrote in Courtiers. "He acts as if his time is short, which leads to a sense of urgency, as if he has only got a few years to get through everything he wants to achieve.

"It goes back to the old observation about Charles: he puts pressure on others, because he puts pressure on himself.

"But the king knows all too well, from his years of frustration as Prince of Wales, that change can be slow to come about."

Courtiers, by Valentine Low, is released in paperback by Headline on July 6.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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