05x05 - The Way Ahead

[bunniefuu]

[thunder rumbling]

[wind rustling reeds gently]

[distant birdsong]

[melancholy music playing slowly]

[Charles] And how does one describe

being Prince of Wales?

I mean, it's hardly a job.

Still less a a vocation.

It's simply a

predicament.

[g*nshots f*ring]

Previous Princes of Wales

have been happy to misspend their lives

in idle dissipation,

but my problem is, I can't bear idleness.

Or dissipation.

Every day, I meet people

from all walks of life.

Ministers, scientists, entrepreneurs,

men and women my age who've gone out

into the world and made their mark.

It's precisely the thing

that I'm not allowed to do.

In any other professional sphere, I'd be

at the peak of my powers.

Instead,

what am I? I'm just a

useless ornament,

stuck in a waiting room,

gathering dust.

[chairs creaking quietly]

There I go again.

Always a little whine with my cheese.

[laughter]

No, it just feels so good

to tell it as it is to close friends.

We understand.

You're a criminally wasted resource, sir.

Look at the extraordinary work

you do with the Prince's Trust.

Turning young lives around,

giving out thousands of grants a year.

Twenty thousand, to be precise.

Our latest initiative is this funding

of evening centers up and down the country

where children from crowded

and low-income households

can come and do their homework.

What a wonderful idea.

Doesn't sound like

an ornament gathering dust to me.

- [laughter]

- [Charles] Oh, thank you, Nancy.

Now, the day's work is still not done,

so will you excuse me?

[chairs creaking softly]

- Good night.

- [guests] Good night, sir.

[indistinct chatter in background]

[scribbling]

One, two, three, pass me up.

Come on, you're doing it so slowly.

Come on!

[laughter and chatter]

- [overlapping chatter]

- [phone ringing]

[phone rings]

- I've got five cards.

- Hello?

Andrew.

- Your Royal Highness.

- [boy] Does that mean I still lose?

[girl] Mummy?

- Is she, um

- She'll be with you in just a moment.

I have to wait

until she picks up in the other room.

[girl] One, two, three, pass me up.

So, is everyone, uh, there together?

[Andrew] Yes, all here.

Such a special time of year.

And is it just the four of you

for Christmas, or?

- [clattering]

- I believe that's her now, sir.

Thank you.

- [phone clatters]

- [Andrew] Right, I'm playing. Move up.

Laura, you been cheating again?

[Camilla] Hello.

Wish you would answer the phone.

I never know what to say.

We're alone now.

I'm in the bedroom.

In bed?

- On top of it.

- Hmm.

- Lucky old bed.

- [Camilla chuckles softly]

Are you still in Cheshire?

I am, yeah.

- Missing you terribly.

- [Camilla exhales]

Back soon though, my darling.

Are you still making the speech

in Oxford tomorrow?

Yes.

That's the reason I called, actually.

Could you bear to quickly listen to it?

Is it very long? We're a full house.

No, short. And punchy.

And a bit controversial.

Which is why I want your opinion.

You always know best when to rein me in.

All right.

Mm.

Remind me of the subject.

The teaching of English language

in schools. [sniffs]

"It is quite astounding

to think that in England,

we have produced one of the world's

most beautiful languages."

"However, the rate at which

that language is degenerating

has become a cause for concern."

"It's a tragedy for the next generation

that in the birthplace

of the language of Keats,

of Shelley, of Shakespeare,

efforts to preserve that language

and uphold the standards of its teaching

are no longer a priority."

"If we look at the way English is used

in business, in the popular press,

or on television programs,

or indeed in our schools,

universities, and institutions,

you'll see just how impoverished

our great mother tongue has become."

[indistinct overlapping radio chatter]

[man] What's the address?

[woman] Sutton Drive. Sutton Drive.

- [man] And what town are you in?

- [woman] Chester.

[man 2] Emergency, tell me

exactly what's happened.

[overlapping radio chatter continues]

[woman 2] Ambulance. I need an ambulance.

[woman 3] Got a minor accident

on the Hedley crossroads,

possible drink driving.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[man 3] Is the patient bleeding?

[man 4] Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I think so.

[radio frequencies shifting]

[man 4] Yeah, no, he is bleeding.

[man 5] He's taking the piss.

He's lost it.

[woman 4] Okay, sir, can you calm down

and tell me exactly what's happened?

[Charles] "see just how impoverished

our great mother tongue has become."

"Everything happens

'at the end of the day.'"

"And every situation is a 'win-win.'"

"As Prince of Wales,

I won't be thanked for saying this,

but the rot begins in

the very institutions whose duty it is

to preserve our proud linguistic

and cultural heritage."

"If we want to produce

the next generation of great writers,

we must use our education system

to protect what is surely

our greatest national export,

- the English language."

- [bell dings]

"Which, like any language,

is so much more

than a collection of words."

"It is a means of building bridges

between people of different backgrounds,

cultures, and generations."

What do you think?

[Camilla] I think it's brilliant.

I think you could go further.

Our language is like an endangered species

that needs to be protected.

It's a scandal

the way we're letting it be slaughtered.

[Charles] Well, I quite agree.

But I read it to my private secretary.

He thinks I might have gone too far.

[Camilla] I suppose it might be better

to leave the audience wanting more.

[Charles] Yes.

I suppose one has to be aware of it

in the room.

Just feel one's way along with it, if you

- If you know what I mean.

- [Camilla] Mmm.

You're awfully good

at feeling your way along.

- [Camilla chuckles]

- [Charles] Stop it.

[recording stops]

[editor] It's too dangerous.

If we run this,

we'd risk being responsible

for breaking up a royal marriage.

But, uh, I don't want

our friend crossing the street

and selling it to anyone else either.

So pay him what he wants.

Keep the tape.

Put it in the safe

and hope for another day.

- [elevator dings]

- [automated voice] Lift going down.

Have you gone to sleep?

No, I'm here.

[exhales] Night. Love you.

[Charles] Adore you.

Night.

Night.

[phone beeps off]

[inhales deeply, exhales sharply]

[theme music playing]

[clock ticking]

[Elizabeth] You are both resolved on this?

No doubts? No hesitancy?

This is really what you want?

[exhales softly]

[somber string music plays]

Very well.

- [door opens]

- [footsteps departing]

[Major] With permission, Madam Speaker,

I wish to inform the House

that Buckingham Palace is,

at this moment, issuing this statement.

It reads as follows.

"It is with regret

that the Prince and Princess of Wales

have decided to separate."

"Their Royal Highnesses

have no plans to divorce,

and their constitutional positions

are unaffected."

"We share the great sorrow

which this announcement will cause

and ask the public to join us in praying

that God will bring comfort

and strength to the prince and princess."

[Major] "The decision by the Prince

and Princess of Wales to separate

has been reached amicably."

"They'll continue to participate fully

in the upbringing of their children"

"and will continue to carry out

full and separate programs

of public engagements."

[Major] "The Queen and

the Duke of Edinburgh, though saddened,

understand and sympathize

with the difficulties

that have led to this decision."

That is the text of the announcement.

I'm sure that I speak for the whole House

and millions beyond it

in offering our support

to both the Prince and Princess of Wales

at this difficult time.

[all] Hear, hear.

[somber music intensifies]

[music fades out]

[bagpipes playing somber tune]

When a vessel is in rough seas,

it's sometimes necessary

to alter her course.

That's why we're all here today.

Now, this particular expedition

is the brainchild of the lord chamberlain.

David, did you want to say a few words?

Thank you, sir.

I think we can all agree

the last few years have been

particularly challenging for the monarchy.

The fire at Windsor Castle,

the failure of several royal marriages,

questions being raised

as to the family's value for money,

its relevancy

Yes, all right.

No need to go over it all again.

And so, in consultation

with Her Majesty the Queen

and His Royal Highness

the Duke of Edinburgh,

we've decided to set up

an informal council of w*r.

A task force to safeguard

the monarchy's survival

in a rapidly changing world.

And, since the idea is to find

new directions for a way forward

Ahead.

Sir?

Ahead, David.

Way ahead.

we would call it the Way Ahead Group.

[Charles] I suppose I should be grateful.

I've been preaching

the gospel of change for

I don't know how long,

and after 25 years, they finally agree.

- And what did they come up with?

- Oh, you ready for this?

Allowing the public into the royal box

at the Albert Hall from time to time.

Mmm. Radical.

Making the requirement to bow or curtsy

to some members

of the royal family optional.

Giving the Royal Air Force Central Band

a more enhanced role

in the Changing of the Guard ceremony

at the Palace.

That's progressive because?

They have women members

within their ranks.

Vive la révolution!

Quite. Meanwhile,

nothing on constitutional reform,

nothing on the monarch

being both head of state

and Supreme Governor

of the Church of England.

How to square that with a country

that's supposed to be a modern democracy?

I told them, we should be

thinking of something much more

radical.

You talk of cost-cutting measures

and reform of the civil list.

I say why not abolish it altogether?

Have the monarchy fund itself.

You talk about including more women

in the pomp and pageantry,

but why not

something more far-reaching than that?

Ending the bar on the eldest daughters

inheriting the throne?

The problem with the ideas

that you've presented today

is that they don't reflect

a modern Britain,

what it looks like,

what it feels like, what its concerns are.

Education, the thr*at to the environment,

better opportunities

for disadvantaged youth,

things I've been campaigning on for years.

I'm afraid I did get rather carried away.

Even dared bring up our great leader.

To her face.

God.

We all saw the unfortunate poll recently

about Queen Victoria Syndrome

and how many people find the Crown

remote and out of touch.

You claim to want to refresh the monarchy.

Well, what I'm proposing

is precisely that.

A new welfare monarchy

that's less about mystery

and magic and divine right,

and more about our practical role

in today's society.

[Elizabeth] That was

a different Charles today.

Separation from Diana has liberated him.

Energized him.

And what if being informed and in touch

is what people want from their sovereign?

Having controversial opinions

and agitating politically

is not what people want

from their sovereign.

I just think, while we're setting up

committees or task forces,

hoping to find ways forward

it might be useful to acknowledge

that the solution we are looking for

could be right under our noses.

[light opera music playing]

Buzzing around me here.

[speaking indistinctly]

[telephone ringing]

Aylard.

Yes.

Yep.

Yep.

- [man] We've checked our end.

- Right.

Sir.

[opera music continues]

[opera music ends]

The recording was made by

an amateur radio enthusiast.

Having correctly identified your voices,

he then sold it to the Daily Mirror.

At the time, the newspaper decided

not to go ahead with it

because of the potential damage

it might do to the royal marriage.

But now you and the Princess of Wales

have officially separated,

the newspaper feels at liberty to publish.

And I think we must brace ourselves

for the transcripts to be published

in the UK in the coming days.

How can they get away with this?

It's a private conversation.

A private matter between two adults.

No one else's business.

[Aylard] Unfortunately, sir,

while the intentional interception

of private phone calls is illegal,

the amateur radio operator in this case

claims to have stumbled upon

the conversation by chance.

Which could be difficult to disprove.

Don't even remember the conversation.

Have we discovered what was actually said?

No details yet,

but we're told it was intimate.

Very intimate.

- [Charles] What do you think?

- [Camilla] I think it's brilliant.

I think you could go further.

Our language is like an endangered species

that needs to be protected.

It's a scandal

the way we're letting it be slaughtered.

[Charles] I quite agree.

I read it to my private secretary.

He thinks I might have gone too far.

I suppose it might be better to

leave the audience wanting more.

Yes.

I suppose one has to be aware of it

in the room.

Just feel one's way along with it, if you

- If you know what I mean.

- [Camilla] Mmm.

You're awfully good

at feeling your way along.

Stop it.

[Camilla chuckles]

[paper rustles]

[Charles sighs]

[Charles] God, I want

to feel my way along you.

All over you.

Up and down you. In and out.

Particularly in and out.

[Camilla sighs]

That's just what I need at the moment.

[Charles] Is it?

[Camilla] I know it would revive me.

I can't bear a Sunday night without you.

[Charles] God.

[Camilla] It's like that program,

Start the Week.

I can't start the week without you.

[Charles] I fill up your t*nk.

[Camilla] Yes, you do.

- [Charles] So you can cope.

- [Camilla] Then I'm all right.

[Charles] What about me?

The trouble is,

I need you several times a week.

[Camilla] So do I.

I need you all week.

I need you all the time.

Oh darling, I just want you now.

- [Charles] Do you?

- [Camilla moans]

[Charles] So do I.

[Camilla] Desperately. Desperately.

[Charles] God, I wish I could just

live inside your trousers or something.

It would be so much easier.

[both chuckle]

[Camilla] What are you going to turn into?

A pair of knickers?

Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck.

[Camilla laughs]

[Camilla] You're a complete idiot.

What a wonderful idea.

My luck to get chucked down the lavatory

and keep on going on and on forever,

swirling around on top, never going down.

[Camilla laughs] Oh, darling.

[both chuckle]

[Charles] Till the next one comes through.

[Camilla] Perhaps you could

just come back as a box.

- [Charles] What sort of box?

- [Camilla] A box of Tampax.

- [Charles chuckles]

- [Camilla] You could just keep going.

[Charles chuckling] That's true.

[tense music playing]

[Camilla] Have you gone to sleep?

[Charles] No, I'm here.

Will you ring me when you wake up?

Night-night, my darling. I do love you.

I love you too.

I don't want to say goodbye.

[Camilla] Neither do I.

[sighs] But you must get some sleep.

[Charles] Bye, darling.

- [Camilla] Bye.

- [Charles] Bye.

Press the button.

[Charles] Going to press the tit.

[Camilla] All right, darling,

I wish you were pressing mine.

[Charles] Oh God.

So do I.

Harder and harder.

[Camilla] Oh, darling

[Charles] Night.

Night.

Love you.

[Charles] Adore you.

Night.

Night.

[phone beeps off]

[inhales deeply, exhales sharply]

[tense music builds]

[newswoman 1] There's uproar in Britain

over the publication

of the so-called Camillagate tapes.

[newsman 1] The call, allegedly between

Prince Charles and a close female friend,

was taped three years ago.

[newswoman 2] He will not come back

from this. The tapes are filthy.

[newsman 2] It's raised doubts whether

the Prince of Wales can ever be king.

[newswoman 3] Yet another royal scandal

making headlines.

Yet another bitter blow

to a monarchy in crisis.

Sally Hinkman, NBC News, London.

- [music fades out]

- [footsteps approaching]

[curtains sliding open]

Here.

I brought you some weapons-grade,

entirely chemical cold medication.

I know you're probably taking

some sort of root or herb.

Garlic, ginger, and elderberry.

[Anne] Mmm. I thought I'd bring you

something that actually works.

Poor you.

It's an assassination.

Complete decimation of my character and

of everything I've worked so hard for.

It's no secret I think, over the years,

you've brought a great many

of your problems upon yourself.

But no one deserves this.

Thank you.

It's the hypocrisy that gets me.

As if none of these journalists have ever

spoken to a lover over the phone.

Said embarrassing things.

It was all a bit embarrassing, wasn't it?

[Anne] Mmm.

It was a little gynecological

for my taste.

Well,

once I'd taken my head out of my hands

- and my fingers out of my throat

- [Charles] God.

there was a surprising residue left,

of being touched by

two teenagers of a certain age being

so gloriously human and

entirely in love.

For that alone, you deserve some credit.

In this family, especially.

- [Charles] You are sweet.

- [Anne] Hmm.

I doubt our dear papa

will see it that way.

All right.

I'll speak to you tomorrow. Or whenever.

[door opens]

[door shuts]

If I weren't so ashamed,

I might confess to admiration

of the sheer scale of your achievement.

In one fell swoop,

you've succeeded in alienating the church

over your moral fitness,

the politicians over

your conduct unbecoming

The House of Commons is in uproar.

They're saying

we've pressed the self-destruct button.

Among your many,

entirely unjustified m*llitary honors

is colonel-in-chief

of the Royal Regiment of Wales.

I wonder if you might remind us

of their motto?

[speaking in Welsh]

In English.

Better death than dishonor.

- What's that? Speak up!

- Better death than dishonor.

A sentiment on which

you would do well to reflect.

Are you still here?

It was so painful.

And so public.

And so unnecessary too.

Everyone at HQ is frightened,

my dear father included.

They don't know how the world has changed,

and everyone's just blaming everyone else.

That's no excuse

for gratuitous, sadistic exhibitionism.

It sounds like playground bullying.

The way the sycophants all nodded.

Grateful that his invective

wasn't directed at them for once.

[Camilla sighs]

It leaves me no choice but to

To protect yourself.

To look after yourself.

Yes.

[Charles] Historians will not be able

to pinpoint a moment

when the breakaway happened

because nothing official has happened.

But a change is happening. I ask you

to look around you. What do you see?

Not old stuffy courtiers, but young,

professional men and women of today.

The Way Ahead Group,

or the Lagging Behind Group,

as I like to call them,

was set up to prepare the monarchy

for the coming millennium,

but it seems they hold some confusion

as to which millennium we're actually in.

[soft chuckling]

I think, as a guiding principle, if we're

interested in saving the monarchy,

we should do the exact opposite

of what the Way Ahead Group recommends.

[Aylard] I think we all agree, and polls

certainly show, the monarchy is in a rut.

A dangerous rut.

It's vital that people are given

a reason to believe in

and be excited about the future.

If one asks oneself

what the future of the monarchy is,

then the answer is is you, sir.

But right now the problem is,

no one knows you.

They don't know who you really are,

nor what you think, or feel

I quite agree.

But what should we do about that?

Well, one thought that we had

was that, um perhaps a mature,

progressive, open television special

would be a way to go.

Where the Prince of Wales is

finally given the opportunity

to freely air his voice.

Alongside an expansive

and wide-ranging interview,

we could grant cameras

unprecedented access

to a future king, at work.

An intimate and authoritative profile

of an enlightened,

thoughtful, forward-thinking man

who has been Prince of Wales

for a quarter of a century,

and a chance for him to lay out his vision

for a modern monarchy, a modern Britain.

Who were you thinking of

as the interviewer?

There are a number of candidates

but the name we're most excited about

is Jonathan Dimbleby.

[Charles] Mmm.

[Aylard] He's serious. He's forthright.

He's independent-minded.

County Durham would be ideal

if we're going from South Shields to

[Aylard] People will know

that it's not puffery

or chocolate box royalism with Dimbleby.

There is an element of risk.

[indistinct chatter]

[Aylard] He's bound to ask

about the marriage at some point.

But, in our view, there's

there's a far greater prospect of reward.

[Charles] Mmm.

Just take your time.

Think measured, considered

- Chaps, we all set?

- [man] Ready to go.

- Good.

- [Aylard] Right, this is it.

[Charles] Thank you.

Hello, Jonathan. How are you?

- Sir.

- [Charles] Where do you want me?

Sitting here, please.

- Please.

- [man] Quiet, please.

- Right.

- [man] Five, four, three

- [chime pings]

- [clears throat]

Your Royal Highness, it's

it's fair to say that, in recent years,

the royal family has been

plagued by a certain amount of adversity.

Do you think, with all these setbacks

to your family and to you personally,

that the monarchy can still survive?

Well, more than that.

I hope it can can flourish.

But to do so, it needs to adapt.

It's no secret

that I'm open to the idea of reform.

I think that we're at

a make-or-break time for the monarchy,

and we need to be radical.

But of course, there's only so much

that I can do as Prince of Wales.

[Dimbleby chuckles dryly]

As king, you will also find yourself

at the head of an established church.

In the past, you have shown

an interest in other faiths.

How does that sit with a future role

as Supreme Governor

of the Church of England,

Defender of the Faith?

Because I prefer to think of myself

not as defender of just one faith,

the Church of England,

but as defender of faith in general.

Why should the Church of England

have a monopoly on the Crown?

What about the Jews and Catholics

and Sikhs and Muslims and Hindus?

Are they not its subjects as well?

There is, of course, one question

above all that burns in the public's mind

and that relates to your marriage

to the Princess of Wales.

One of the most serious allegations

concerning your marriage

is that you were repeatedly unfaithful,

and that your close association

with Camilla Parker Bowles

was a deciding factor in its collapse.

How do you answer that?

Mrs. Parker Bowles is

a dear friend of mine,

a wonderful friend

that I'm jolly lucky to have.

And, even within a marriage,

one must still nurture

outside friendships.

And Mrs. Parker Bowles is just one

of a number of friends

that I've been close to over the years.

[Dimbleby] When you married your wife,

you made a pledge before God

to uphold your wedding vows.

Did you at least try to be faithful

from the start?

But of course.

- [Dimbleby] And were you?

- Yes.

Until

until it became

obvious that, uh

the marriage couldn't be saved.

Both of us having

done our best.

At which point, I

tried to do my duty.

[clears throat] But there was

there was nothing to be done.

So, yes, um

[sniffs]

old friendships were rekindled.

[Dimbleby] You've been very forthright

in your response, very honest.

Is it your hope

that this issue will now go away?

[Charles] Well, I'd certainly prefer it.

And the difficulty stems,

I think, from when

when we in the monarchy

set ourselves up as a sort of ideal.

As husbands or as wives or as as parents.

And very often,

the truth is very far from that.

The question people have to ask themselves

is what do they want in their leaders?

Do they want someone who errs,

but who learns from their mistakes,

who grows,

who who recognizes the need for change,

who has a vision?

Or someone who is content

to continue making the same mistakes

and to keep things as they are?

Really, I think that's the clear choice

that, uh, that people are faced with.

[Dimbleby] This desire for progression

extends to many aspects

of your work as Prince of Wales

[reporter 1] Prince Charles bared his soul

to the nation last night

in a television documentary

designed to showcase

his work as Prince of Wales,

and he appeared to have no regrets

as he greeted onlookers today

during his first public appearance

since the program aired.

[cheers and applause]

[reporter 2] His aides were letting it

be known they've been delighted

with the response

to his controversial television profile.

Palace officials said

they'd been deluged with calls of support.

[reporter 3] The program contained

a number of intimate revelations,

including the prince's close friendship

with Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles.

The admission divided viewers

between those who felt it was

a refreshing attempt to clear the air

and those who felt

the prince had made an error of judgment.

There was no comment

from Kensington Palace,

but the Princess of Wales

upstaged her husband

by attending the Serpentine Gallery's

annual summer party this evening,

putting on a defiant display

in what many are already calling

her revenge dress.

[crowd cheering]

- [cheers continue]

- [cameras clicking]

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter 3] The prince and princess

remain focused on their public roles.

But there is little doubt

that the w*r of the Waleses

has entered a new and more volatile phase.

- [man] Diana!

- [crowd clamoring]

- [woman] Camilla!

- [cameras clicking]

[crowd clamoring]

[man] Camilla! Camilla!

The newspapers called you Plain Jane.

What do you say to that, Camilla?

- [car door slams]

- [engine revs]

Just move back.

[buzzing]

- [doors open]

- [music fades out]

[Major] Reaction to the interview

is divided

between those that feel the prince

has shown himself unfit to be king

and should have had

the good grace to stay silent,

and those that have been

pleasantly surprised

by what they saw and heard.

Interestingly, it was his desire

to be defender of faith in general,

to Jews, Muslims,

Catholics, Sikhs, Hindus,

rather than Defender of the Faith

that has won most favor.

His words having undeniably

connected with whole constituencies

that are traditionally left

unreached by the monarchy.

It is not a monarch's role to campaign

or chase constituencies like a politician

because the Crown itself is

a unifying symbol.

It binds together

a kingdom of four nations

and a worldwide,

multi-racial Commonwealth.

Symbolically.

Charles is frustrated

because the Crown has many

of the functions of an inanimate object.

He prefers to be animate.

But there's a danger in that.

One can end up undoing more than doing.

Your Royal Highness.

You're not eating?

No, I don't have an appetite.

Must say, I'm surprised you do.

Why? It's delicious.

What's all this I hear about a book?

The idea is to do a book

following on from the interview.

Taking some of the points further.

Why?

Because a lot of the important things

I wanted to say

about education and environment

and architecture

got drowned out

by all the hoo-hah about adultery.

- Also, people are interested.

- Mmm.

Maybe not as interested as you think.

Maybe more interested than you think.

If my postbag is anything to go by.

In the 18th century,

it was considered perfectly normal

for the Prince of Wales

to set up shop at Leicester House

to generate fresh ideas.

A shadow monarchy, in essence.

A rival court.

But this is not the 18th century.

And creating rival courts

is not what we do in this family.

We close ranks behind the sovereign,

not criticize her.

We're all after the same thing, Anne.

You sure you won't have

some of this asparagus?

It's fresh from the garden.

[Anne] Right.

[Charles] Thanks for coming.

[kissing]

[somber music plays]

[Anne] For years, I've doubted Charles.

That he wasn't strong enough.

Tough enough.

But look what he's just come through.

First that phone recording,

subsequent humiliation.

Then that interview

and subsequent criticism.

And it hasn't broken him.

The opposite.

He might be as mad as everyone thinks,

but he's not as weak as everyone thinks.

The Charles I saw today was strong.

Confident.

Mature.

Not only does he have

what it takes for the job,

in some ways, he's already begun.

What do you mean?

[Anne] For the past year,

possibly more,

Charles has been slowly but surely

setting up his own court at St James's.

His own Camelot.

His own advisors, his own

modern, progressive agenda.

[indistinct chatter]

[Anne] He knows one day

he will be King Charles III.

And if we want to know

what that will look and feel like

well, he's starting to show us.

[indistinct chatter]

[Charles] The whole point

of the Prince's Trust

is to equip young people like you

with the skills and the confidence

to fulfil your dreams and ambitions.

It's nice to meet you.

[Charles] Now, you may think

that someone of my age and background

wouldn't understand young people

in your communities

and the unfair judgment of society

that you sometimes face.

Well, as it happens,

I do understand a little bit

about what it is

to be criticized and judged.

And I also know

that those judgments are mostly not true.

[laughter, chatter]

[Charles] That people out there

have no idea who I really am.

How about you?

I'm sure that each of you

has something within you.

An unacknowledged greatness.

A talent that deserves to be recognized.

And that's what

the Prince's Trust is all about.

To give you the confidence

to believe in your ideas

and the money to bring them to fruition.

[bicycle bell ringing]

I want to reach those

that have been overlooked. Rejected.

To make sure

that you've been given a chance.

Because it's only

when we risk reaching too far

that we find out

how far it's possible to go.

Thank you.

[cheers and applause]

Thank you very much.

[somber music fades out]

["Don't Sweat the Technique"

by Eric B. & Rakim playing]

Don't sweat the technique ♪

Don't sweat the technique ♪

Let's trace the hits

And check the file ♪

Let's see who bit to detect the style ♪

I flip the script

So they can't get foul ♪

At least not now, it'll take a while ♪

I change the pace to complete the b*at ♪

I drop the bass 'til MCs get weak ♪

For every word they trace

It's a scar they keep ♪

'Cause when I speak

They freak to sweat the technique ♪

I made my debut in '86 ♪

With a melody and a President's mix ♪

And now I stay on target

And refuse to miss ♪

And I still make hits with beats ♪

Parties, clubs, in the cars and Jeeps ♪

My underground sound

Vibrates the streets ♪

MCs wanna beef, then I play for keeps ♪

When they sweat the technique ♪

Don't sweat the technique ♪

They wanna know how many rhymes

Have I ripped and wrecked ♪

But researchers never found

All the pieces yet ♪

Scientists try to solve the context ♪

Philosophers are wondering what's next ♪

Pieces are took to labs to observe 'em ♪

They couldn't absorb 'em

They didn't deserve 'em ♪

My ideas are only

For the audience's ears ♪

For my opponents, it might take years ♪

Pencils and pens are swords ♪

Letters put together

From a key to chords ♪

I'm also a sculpture

Formed with structure ♪

Because of my culture

I'm equipped to construct the ♪

Technical styles that'll be

Full of technology ♪

Complete sights and new heights

After I get deep ♪

You don't have to speak, just seek ♪

And peep the technique ♪

[song fades out]