New Book Details King Charles' Strange Attachment To A Teddy Bear As A Grown Man
Much to the delight of royal fans, an increasing number of royal-related books keep hitting shelves. While some books have direct royal input, like Prince Harry's hotly-anticipated memoir, "Spare," others rely on the recollections of royal staff. For his new book, "The King," which will be available November 8, author Christopher Andersen talked with some of King Charles III's valets and other staffers to get the lowdown on daily life at the palace, per Page Six. Some of these tales depict the king as having highly specific requirements for the amount and placement of foods on his breakfast tray, as well as stories of the king expecting staff to hand-wash his underwear and tie his shoes.
As a result of writing the book, Andersen told ET that Charles was "one of the most eccentric sovereigns Great Britain has ever had." The author said, "I think one of the funniest quirks — a number of royals have this, the queen had it as well — they don't like square ice cubes." Andersen went on to explain that these royals disliked the sound of square-shaped ice in a glass.
Royal eccentricities as recounted by palace staffers are certainly nothing new. Previously, a former protection officer exposed Prince Andrew's unusual behavior, including his exacting instructions for his teddy bears. While Andrew's collection involved 50-60 furry friends (via Independent), Andersen's story of Charles involves just one specific bear.
King Charles has a cherished childhood stuffy
According to author Christopher Andersen, King Charles III has a cherished stuffed toy. "He still travels with a childhood teddy bear," Andersen told ET. "He's had it since he was a very small child." Inside Edition published an excerpt of the book which described Charles sleeping with his beloved bear. "At forty-eight, Charles still traveled everywhere with Teddy, insisting that when the toy animal lost a button or began to fray, the Prince's childhood nanny, Mabel Anderson, be called in to sew Teddy back to health," Andersen wrote.
Growing up, Charles had a close bond with his nanny, who he nicknamed "Mispy." "It was Mabel who put Charles to bed, told him stories, patched up his cuts and bruises," royal author Robert Jobson told Express. "Mabel Anderson was certainly Prince Charles' rock when he was a young and sensitive child."
Charles' former nanny was the only person trusted with repairing his bear, says Andersen. "Every time that teddy needed to be repaired, you would think it was his own child having major surgery," he wrote, per Page Six.
While Andersen counts the king's bear attachment as a quirk, a survey by Time4Sleep shows that Charles is in good company. Half of the men surveyed still have a teddy bear, per Daily Mail. A 2017 survey by Build-A-Bear Workshop yielded similar results, with 1,000 adults saying they owned a stuffed toy. 40% of these said they sleep with their toy (via Study Finds).
Author Andersen also brings up Charles' special toilet seat story once again
While strange facts about King Charles III abound, sometimes oft-told tales about the king are disputed and categorized as rumors that refuse to go away. For instance, in his upcoming book, "The King," Christopher Andersen mentions that Charles, "travels with a custom-made toilet seat," per Independent. The bespoke seat also got a mention in Tina Brown's "The Palace Papers," and author Tom Bower mentioned it in the Daily Mail.
However, according to Grant Harrold, Charles' former butler, this story is a bizarre myth. "Somebody said to me, 'Oh did you have to carry the loo toilet seat around?' And I said, 'What toilet seat?' I've never heard of this," Harrold told ET Online.
Previously, Charles vehemently denied the traveling toilet seat story. When questioned by a reporter from an Australian radio station in 2018, the king responded with a surprised, "My own what?! Oh, don't believe all that crap. The very idea!" (via The Cut). Queen consort Camilla also quickly jumped to her husband's defense at the time, saying, "Don't you believe that."
Other stories in Andersen's book have circulated for decades
Like the toilet seat anecdote, other stories in Christopher Andersen's, "The King" have been told before. In the book, Andersen includes claims from King Charles III's former valet, Ken Stronach, involving an enraged Charles tearing a sink off the wall after losing a cufflink down the drain, per Page Six. Stronach was also the staffer responsible for making sure Charles had his beloved bear went he went to sleep.
In 1995, The Washington Post reported that Stronach revealed these details and more when he gave an on-the-record interview with the tabloid News of the World. The valet also talked about having to cover up evidence of Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. "We've all kept his secrets and the strain made me very ill," Stronach said. According to the Independent, at the time the valet was given £100,000 for providing New of the World with behind-the-scenes photographs and information. As a result, the then-prince took the matter to court and Stronach received an order restraining him from talking further about his experiences working for Charles.