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Before Princess Diana, King Charles was nearly arrange with American royalty.
The former Prince Charles visited the United States in 1970 when he was 21 and newly topped the Prince of Wales. An keen President Nixon was decided to play matchmaker between the prince and first daughter Tricia Nixon.
“At the time, Charles was frequently talked about as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors,” writer David Charter instructed Fox News Digital. “And Nixon was very keen on the royals. He was royals obsessed. When it was arranged that Charles and his younger sister Princess Anne, who was 19, would make this big solo visit to the White House and do a little tour of America, he was already coming up with a plan.”
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Prince Charles is seen right here with Tricia Nixon in Washington, D.C., circa 1970. (Keystone-FranceGamma-Rapho)
Charter has written a brand new book, “Royal Audience,” which explores the particular relationship between the U.S. and the British royal household over time. He described how Nixon was desirous to pair up his daughter with the longer term king.
Prince Charles and Princess Anne go to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 1970. They are accompanied by Tricia Nixon (second from left), daughter of President Nixon, and David Eisenhower (far left), grandson of former President Eisenhower. (UPI/Bettmann Archive)
“Before Charles got here to America, Richard Nixon was invited to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth in the summertime of 1969,” Charter defined. “When Nixon shook hands with Charles, he told him, ‘Both of my daughters follow you very closely.’ Prince Philip commented, ‘I’m sure one is no longer.’ He was referring to Nixon’s daughter, Julia, who had just gotten married.”
“It was very obvious that Nixon was dropping hints that his daughter Tricia was interested in Charles because she was following him closely,” Charter added.
David Charter’s new book, “Royal Audience: 70 Years, 13 Presidents – One Queen’s Special Relationship with America,” is now obtainable. (G.P. Putnams Sons)
When Charles and Anne touched down in America, it was reported that he spent “plenty of time” with Tricia. According to LIFE journal, the pair noticed the sights of Washington collectively, attended a proper dinner and went to a baseball recreation. The outlet famous that because the duo “laughed and danced” on the formal night occasion, Nixon “never looked happier.”
Prince Charles sits with Tricia Nixon, daughter of President Nixon, throughout a baseball recreation at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (David Cairns/Daily Express/Hulton Archive)
“When Charles arrived, he found himself paired off with Tricia at all of these public appearances the entire time,” Charter chuckled. “He even later joked about how Nixon was trying to marry him off to Tricia. It was several days of him being paired off with Tricia. Nixon made sure Tricia was his chaperone the entire time. There are lots of great photographs of Charles and Tricia together, to Nixon’s delight. He was hoping something was happening between them.”
“She was unattached,” Charter continued. “There was no boyfriend on the scene. Tricia was a similar age to Charles and, of course, newspapers kept wondering when he would finally meet his match. … I think Charles was amused by the whole thing. But Richard Nixon, who was so fascinated by the royal family, was hopeful.”
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This picture taken on July 20, 1970, exhibits Prince Charles with President Nixon throughout his official go to to the U.S. (AFP)
No sparks had been flying when Charles attended his first baseball recreation with Tricia. According to the Washington Post, it was a 91-degree day, inflicting Charles to ask if he may sit within the shaded press field quite than bear the warmth down on the stands. There had been 8,500 folks in attendance and all cameras had been on Charles and Tricia.
The outlet famous that Charles struggled to grasp the principles of the sport and stored asking for an explainer. By the time there was a house run, Charles and Anne had lengthy left the ballpark.
Charles’ go to to a Major League Baseball stadium “was apparently an experience of some bewilderment,” the outlet reported.
Prince Charles struggled to grasp the principles of baseball. (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix)
A love match between Charles and Tricia wasn’t meant to be. Less than a yr after Charles’ go to, Tricia married Harvard Law pupil Edward F. Cox. They are nonetheless collectively.
Tricia Nixon married Edward F. Cox in 1971. (Getty Images)
Charles remained a bachelor for at the least a decade earlier than he married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. The couple divorced after 15 years of marriage.
But earlier than Charles ever mentioned “I do,” he was nicknamed the “Playboy Prince” for his prolonged courting historical past. According to stories, he gave himself the deadline of age 30 to search out his future queen. He missed the goal by two years, however it wasn’t for lack of making an attempt. He reportedly romanced at the least 20 girls coined “Charlie’s Angels.”
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Prince Charles is seen right here at a polo match with Sarah Spencer. (Tim Graham Photo Library)
He was beforehand concerned with Diana’s older sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. The pair met at one of many queen’s events and the longer term king was mentioned to be taken by her humorousness and reddish hair. They dated in 1977 and, on paper, she appeared like an ideal match for the inheritor to the throne.
“She was from the Spencer family, fully aristocratic,” True Royalty TV co-founder Nick Bullen beforehand instructed Fox News Digital. “And in many ways, they would have been a very good match. She’s probably more like Camilla than she is Diana. Sarah loves horses, loves hunting. She smokes, she speaks her mind – all the attributes that Camilla had when Charles was going out with her in the early years. So, in many ways, Sarah matched all the things that Camilla was and what drew Charles to Camilla. But she also had all the things Camilla didn’t have, which was the aristocratic heritage.”
Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles are seen right here after they introduced their engagement. (Tim Graham Photo Library)
But that each one modified in 1977 when Spencer, focused by tabloids, instructed reporters that she frankly wouldn’t marry somebody she didn’t love. According to True Royalty TV’s documentary, “Charles and the Women Who Could Have Been Queen,” an embarrassed Spencer allegedly referred to as Charles after her bombshell assertion in an try and clear the air. But Charles, who loathed when his girlfriends spoke to the press, remarked, “You’ve done a very stupid thing.” The movie famous that Spencer “played cupid” between Charles and her youthful sister, who discovered her future ex-husband “dashing.”
Princess Diana and Prince Charles married in 1981. Their divorce was finalized in 1996. (Getty Images)
Charles had a selected guidelines for his spouse – she wanted to be aristocratic, not a Catholic and a virgin. She additionally wanted the queen’s approval. Still, his life modified when he met his future queen – Camilla Shand – in 1970, whose household had lengthy hyperlinks with the royals.
The former Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, married on April 9, 2005. (Anwar Hussein)
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Diana died in 1997 from accidents she sustained in a automobile crash. She was 36. Diana is survived by her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who she shared along with her ex-husband. Charles and Camilla married in 2005.
Charles ascended to the throne upon the demise of his mom, Queen Elizabeth II. England’s longest-reigning monarch died in 2022 at age 96.
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