King Charles exploded in 'torrents of profanity' after Trump's remarks on Kate's topless photo scandal, book claims
5 November 2022, 13:43 | Updated: 5 November 2022, 14:11
King Charles and his sons - Prince William and Harry - exploded in 'torrents of profanity' after Donald Trump made controversial remarks about Kate's topless photo scandal, a new book has claimed.
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Kate was photographed sunbathing topless on the private grounds of a French chateau in 2012, with the pictures later emerging in a French magazine.
Mr Trump reacted on Twitter, arguing that Kate had "only herself to blame".
"Kate Middleton is great--but she shouldn’t be sunbathing in the nude--only herself to blame," the 76-year-old tweeted.
He added: "Who wouldn’t take Kate’s picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing.
"Come on Kate!"
Excerpts from Christopher Andersen's upcoming biography The King: The Life of Charles III revealed the tweet sparked fury among the royals, particularly the King himself, Prince William and Harry.
"Trump's criticism of Kate resulted in what one Clarence House butler referred to as "torrents of profanity" from both Prince Charles and his sons," Mr Andersen said, according to Newsweek.
Read more: Fury as Netflix's The Crown to dramatise Diana's interview with Bashir - despite William's pleas
At the time, St James' Palace issued a statement saying: "Their Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner.
"The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so."
It continued: "Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house.
"It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them.
"Officials acting on behalf of Their Royal Highnesses are consulting with lawyers to consider what options may be available to The Duke and Duchess."
In 2017, Kate and William were granted £91,000 ($120,000) in punitive damages.
The book also revealed that Charles was "disappointed" after Mr Trump referred to him as the "Prince of Whales" as opposed to "Wales".
The former president suggested that he "could have nailed" Princess Diana if he had wanted to as well, which "didn't help" his rapport with the royals.
They were even understood to have tried to "discourage" a planned visit by Mr Trump to Britain in 2017.
Charles, William and Harry "burned up the phone lines between Clarence House and Kensington Palace, with all three princes agreeing to work behind the scenes to discourage Trump's visit," Mr Andersen said.
The King thought Mr Trump was "detached from reality" and asked his American friends if he would be impeached, the author goes on to say.
