Luke Bryan discusses King Charles’ coronation concert

During the Seventies, King Charles, then Prince of Wales, was seen as the most eligible bachelor in the world, given the nickname the “Playboy Prince”. A new documentary by ITVX called The Real Crown: Inside the House of Winsor has explored the “lives, loves and scandals” of the Royal Family, and the second episode, called Threats, explores the years before Charles proposed to Diana Spencer, when he was “linked to as many sweet young things as Casanova”. Here Express.co.uk takes a look at the women Charles courted — all of whom were dubbed “Charlie’s Angels”.

The King had a close relationship with his great uncle, Lord Mountbatten, described as the “grandfather” he never had, who advised him to play the field as much as possible before finding a “sweet-charactered” girl to make his wife. 

“Uncle Dickie”, as he was known, wrote him a letter which read: “I believe, in a case like yours, the man should sow his wild oats and have as many affairs as he can before settling down but for a wife, he should choose a suitable, attractive and sweet-charactered girl before she met anyone else she might fall for.”

The young Prince, who had set himself a deadline of finding a wife by the time he turned 30, appeared to have followed the doctor’s orders, as it has been suggested he dated some 20 women in ten years. 

Lady Bettina Lindsay

In 1970, Charles was linked to Lady Bettina Lindsay, the daughter of the 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, after they were seen attending a concert together. Nothing came of it, and she later married businessman Peter Drummond-Hay. 

Davina Sheffield

Once dubbed by a royal commentator as the “soulmate he was searching for”, Davina Sheffield met Charles when she was 24. 

The granddaughter of Lord McGown and cousin of Samantha nee Sheffield, wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron, Davina was dating a powerboat racer James Beard. 

According to Penny Junor’s 2005 book The Firm, Charles continued to pursue her and there were rumours he was going to propose, having eventually pushed James out of the picture — but not for good. 

Reporters hounded her former boyfriend who revealed that the pair had “lived in sin” together before she was with Charles which then “killed” any relationship she had with the Prince of Wales “stone dead”. 

Lady Amanda Knatchbull

Charles was encouraged to pursue Lady Amanda Knatchbull, his second cousin, by her grandfather, Lord Mountbatten. In fact, he even proposed to her but she later turned him down as she did not want to be in the spotlight, having lost her younger brother Nicholas and Lord Mountbatten in IRA assassinations. 

William Evans, former valet to Lord Mountbatten, told the ITVX documentary that they had been fond of each other but Amanda was not in love with him, adding: “It was not Amanda’s way of life… She would not have wanted to be Queen.” 

Lady Jane Wellesley

The Duke of Wellington’s daughter, Lady Jane Wellesley dated Charles in the early Seventies and was reportedly considered to be a key candidate for marriage. This put their relationship under strain as they were exposed to intense media scrutiny and the couple later blamed their break up on the constant attention they received. 

But Jane also made plain that she had no intention of joining the Royal Family. When asked about their engagement, she said: “Do you honestly believe I want to be Queen?”

Sabrina Guinness

Charles was linked to the brewing dynasty heiress in the late Seventies. They frequently went to the polo and theatre and she was even taken to Balmoral to meet the Royal Family. 

Princess Margaret said their relationship was “serious” but the Queen was unhappy about her “racy” past and Charles was forced to drop the “It Girl”, who later went on to date Mick Jagger and David Bowie. 

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Lady Sarah Spencer

Princess Diana’s older sister and daughter of the 8th Earl of Spencer met the Prince in 1977. They had a fling which was brief as she spoke to the press. Sarah reportedly spoke to reporters candidly about having an eating disorder, courting “thousands of boyfriends”, and explained that she would not want to marry the Prince. 

She was quoted in Time magazine in 1978 as saying: “There is no chance of my marrying him. I’m not in love with him. And I wouldn’t marry anyone I didn’t love whether he were the dustman or the King of England.”

But it was Sarah who appeared to have played a pivotal role in forming one of the most famous relationships as she claimed to have introduced Diana and Charles, describing herself as “Cupid”. 

Anna Wallace

The daughter of Scottish landowner Hamish Wallace, Anna met the now King in 1980 and was the last of Charles’s girlfriends before he proposed to Diana. Dubbed “Whiplash Wallace” for her fiery attitude, she twice turned down Charles who had by now passed the deadline of his 30th birthday. 

But it was the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday that was the final straw. According to author Jessica Jayne, Charles spent the entire night dancing with the now Queen Camilla. It was reported that she said at the time: “I have never been so badly treated in my life. You’ve left me alone all evening and now you will have to continue without me.”

All episodes of The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor are available to stream on itvX here. 

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