Charles is the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held the title as heir to the throne for over 60 years. The Queen herself, although increasingly delegating some duties to the rest of the Royal Family, has never entertained the prospect of stepping down from her position as monarch. The notion of what happens when the Queen hands over power – and talk of an abdication or a regency – reared its head again last December when many commentators noted how Charles has been steadily increasing his high-profile duties on behalf of Her Majesty.

However, in 1998, Charles’ household made a spectacular faux pas when they appeared to endorse the thought of an abdication. 

In his 2006 book “William’s Princess”, veteran royal correspondent Robert Jobson delves into the episode. 

Mr Jobson writes: “In November 1998, a person never identified was responsible for a spectacularly misguided attempt to burnish Charles’ reputation and enforce his position as heir to the throne.

“[It] led instead to the Queen’s ire, necessitating an embarrassing climbdown on the part of her eldest son. 

“The Queen was appalled to read that a St James’s Palace aide had asserted that Charles would be ‘privately delighted’ if his mother were to abdicate. 

“If true, this was a delight the prince would have been better keeping to himself. 

“But the source of the information was a supporter of Charles who no doubt genuinely believed himself to be speaking in the Prince of Wales’ best interest.

“This was an act of treachery as far as the Queen was concerned. 

“Livid, she telephoned Charles who was on an official visit to Bulgaria. 

“He knew nothing about it but agreed with his mother that a joint statement should be issued in which Charles would stress his ‘abiding admiration and affection for the Queen’.

“Prince Charles insisted that if any of his staff had been guilty, heads would roll. 

“Whatever Buckingham Palace suspects, the investigation proved nothing and nobody was hung out to dry.”

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Mr Jobson also documents the heir to the throne’s reaction, on the royal tour in Bulgaria. 

He writes: “I was on that trip when Charles received that most unusual telephone call from  his thoroughly irritated mother. 

“I well remember the ashen face of Charles’ then press secretary, Sandy Henney.”  

The author continues: “A statement was issued rubbishing the notion that Charles had any interest in his mother abdicating. 

“It was a joint statement from monarch and heir, the subtext perhaps being that without the Queen’s clout, doubt might still remain. 

“What it amounted to was a humiliating public apology from son to mother that the newspapers seized on enthusiastically.”

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