cover image Charles: The Untold Story

Charles: The Untold Story

Ross Benson. St. Martin's Press, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-312-10950-9

This biography of the Prince of Wales is at once foolish and poignant--and how could it be otherwise, since the man who would be king has established that reputation himself. Benson, a columnist for the London Express and a former classmate of the prince at Gordonstoun in the wilds of Scotland, recalls how the students there made great sport of following the heir-apparent in packs taunting him with ``clamorous slurping noises.'' We also read that throughout the prince's youth his parents were distant from him, that he was a latch-key kid with only his nannies to change his nappies. Denial of parental affection, the author suggests, left a ``resonating hollow in his life.'' Benson trails the prince from his nursery years to that of his mother's annus horribilis , titillating us with anecdotes purportedly told by ``members of the household'' without making clear whether the tales he repeats were gleaned by him or learned third hand. But we've heard it all before, in any case. (Mar.)