King Charles had valet who was in charge of his 'teddy bear', book claims

UK's King Charles III, a prince in his ’40s, had valets taking care of his teddy bear, according to a new book The King: The Life of Charles III due out Nov. 8 composed by Christopher Andersen. The excerpts revealed on Thursday show numerous oddities linked to Britain's monarch who, the book says, is bad at controlling his temper and "didn’t seem to care to." But he mostly travelled with a trusted companion, a plush toy—a teddy bear, the royal author reveals in the book. While the King is written about having many demands, he “doesn’t like square ice cubes” and like a 5-year-old boy, he “travels with a childhood teddy bear," Andersen stated. 

Teddy accompanied King Charles III 'since he was a small child'

The teddy bear talked about in the new book is believed to have accompanied King Charles III since he was a “very small child.” It was guarded by one of Charles’ most trusted valets, Michael Fawcett. The latter is in charge of taking care of the bear well, even into the UK King’s adulthood, Andersen claimed separately on Entertainment Tonight. “The only person who’s been allowed to mend King Charles’ teddy bear is his childhood nanny, Mabel Anderson, who he remains very close to,” Andersen said. The teddy bear also has a designated nanny who helped repair it when it needed mending, according to the royal author. This would happen more often when Charles “was well into his 40s, and every time that teddy needed to be repaired, you would think it was his own child having major surgery,” Fawcett claims. 

According to the author, the valet's other tasks besides looking after the teddy bear included squeezing toothpaste on the then prince’s monogrammed toothbrush, shaving his face, assisting him with daily chores such as helping him put pants on, tying his shoes, etc. Another valet named Ken Stronach stated in the book that before Charles dozed off, the valet Stronach would tuck the "adult prince" into bed each night and ensure that he snuggled his teddy. “For someone who said he was bullied as a child, Prince Charles clearly enjoyed bullying us,” a Highgrove staffer was quoted telling the book author. “He could be pleasant and courteous, but just as much of the time, he was moody and mean,” the source claimed. “He didn’t think twice about shouting insults at you if you put a foot wrong.”

The book also reveals King's brutal behavior and mood issues as the author says that he hurled a heavy wooden bootjack at Princess Diana once that almost hit her head. On one other occasion during his visit to a villa in the South of France, Charles had an anger meltdown as a cuff link fell down a bathroom sink. “Flying into a blind rage, he pulled the sink off the wall, then smashed it, looking for the cuff link,” Andersen writes. “Unable to find the missing jewelry, a wild-eyed Prince of Wales spun around and grabbed his valet by the throat. Stronach broke free, darted out a side door — and into a linen closet. Terrified, he huddled there for 30 minutes before he could hear Charles leave the bathroom," an excerpt from the book revealed. Charles destroyed the sink. “Once, while a guest at a friend’s country home, Charles wanted some fresh air,” Andersen wrote. “Unable to open the window, he picked up a chair and smashed it open. Not satisfied with the results, he smashed another," the author wrote citing eyewitnesses in the book about UK King's behaviour. 

 “Prince is accustomed to getting what he wants. And he wanted some fresh air," Stronach told author.