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    Queen Elizabeth II "Never Understood" One Royal Family Member's "Pampered Lifestyle," Says Royal Author

    She reportedly "found it rather mystifying."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 25 April 2026 In News

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    Crowds cheer as Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Valentine's Park Redbridge as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK on March 29, 2012
    (Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
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    Despite being the literal Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II reportedly lived a "frugal" life in some respects. According to one royal author, the late monarch expressed concern regarding the so-called "pampered lifestyle" of one of her children, which she didn't completely understand.

    In the book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward revealed, "The Queen never understood Charles's pampered lifestyle and found it rather mystifying, as by nature Charles is not a selfish man, but a life of being deferred to often stopped him considering others."

    Seward continued, "He has no sympathy for trivial ailments and combats his own sinus problems by sleeping in an oxygen tent. Tiredness or oversleeping are not acceptable excuses for missing even an hour's work, and he will never have a lie-in on a Sunday morning, even if he is feeling unwell."

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    King Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte on the balcony during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

    "The Queen never understood Charles's pampered lifestyle and found it rather mystifying."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Having grown up surrounded by such privilege, King Charles can reportedly find himself disconnected from reality.

    As Seward noted, "He is insistent on things being done correctly, and when his childhood teddy bear—who, according to Prince Harry, goes everywhere with his 'pa'—needs repairing and patching, he sends the teddy to his wife's couturier to be mended, with instructions to do it quickly so he can have him back."

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    Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attend the 2017 Braemar Highland Gathering at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on September 2, 2017

    "By nature Charles is not a selfish man, but a life of being deferred to often stopped him considering others."

    (Image credit: Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

    However, according to Seward, Queen Elizabeth also had a unique understanding of her eldest son.

    "The Queen was far wiser about her son than he ever gave her credit for, and she was acutely aware of his strengths and weaknesses," the royal expert wrote. "She privately acknowledged long before anyone else that his marriage to Camilla was inevitable and they would have to stop playing what she called 'this cat-and-mouse game' and get on with it."

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    Even if she sometimes disapproved of his lifestyle, it seems that the late Queen actually knew King Charles extremely well.

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    Weekend Editor

    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.

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