Charles

Whether or not the Prince of Wales is the Renaissance man his biographer paints, his self-assessment of his function as a role model is amply borne out in this respectful study. Junor, author of a biography of Richard Burton, describes the man who may one day be king of England as a ""compendium of ideas and philosophies taken from a wide range of people.'' A pivotal influence was his much-loved great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, a surrogate father whose death by an IRA bomb left Charles emotionally dazed. From a lengthy heritage of pomp and circumstance, Charles has developed an alternative personal lifestyle, following the quieter pursuits of farming and gardening, espousing environmental concerns and developing an interest in the spiritual. The well-known facts of Charles the husband, father and heir apparent are counterbalanced by the author's sensitive interviews with him, the basis for an evaluation of the Prince as ``one of the saddest people I have ever encountered.'' (March)