Why King Charles Claimed He Felt Like a Prisoner in His Life

King Charles wears a blue suit with military medals attached and he looks very sad — (Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, King Charles took the British throne. Since then, Charles has seemingly embraced his role as monarch. But according to one royal expert, The King once described himself as "a prisoner," who allegedly felt trapped "in his own life."

In the book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward revealed, "By his own admission, Charles was not very good at positive thinking. He was, he complained, 'a prisoner' in his own life. And he did what he always did when faced with a situation he could not control—he walked away from it."

According to Seward, Charles's unhappy marriage to Princess Diana impacted him greatly, which often led to him attempting to "escape" from the situation.

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"Camilla was always there for him and didn't depend on him for anything, so when things got too much, he just drove the half hour to Middlewick House in Wiltshire for a few hours with Camilla," Seward shared. "It was an escape."

Ingrid Seward

'My Mother and I'

Princess Diana and Prince Charles in their engagement photo — "He couldn't bear to sit with Diana any more."

Elaborating on what King Charles disliked about his home situation, Seward wrote, "He couldn't bear to sit with Diana any more, a member of the Highgrove staff recalls. Diana slammed doors, kicked walls, and burst into tears, her frustration and anger so out of control that they were, according to the Highgrove household, 'frightening.'"

Charles soon found himself in a difficult situation, which caused him to feel like "a prisoner," per Seward. "The barrage of criticism being aimed in his direction, combined with the unhappiness of his home life with Diana, became an intolerable strain," the author shared.

Queen Camilla and King Charles on their wedding day — "Camilla was always there for him and didn't depend on him for anything."

Seward continued, "He felt he was being tangled in knots; this was not the image he wanted for himself or the Royal Family, not what he wanted for his sons, not what he wanted in a marriage, not what he wanted for Camilla, and certainly not what he had ever wanted for Diana."

So much has changed in Charles's life in the years since, hopefully he no longer feels like "'a prisoner' in his own life."

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.