Prince Charles, Princess Margaret and other members of the royal family were all put through the ringer in their own ways, according to a new report.
The book, The Queen and the Daring Sons: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Royal Family, was written by veteran journalist Mark Scott.
Its release is expected to draw strong condemnation from critics of the monarchy who say the book paints the royal families in a negative light.
Scott, who wrote about the Queen and Prince Charles’ years in the royal household, said the book revealed a “dangerous picture of the royals” which is not based on truth.
“The royals were not perfect, but their failings were far greater than those of their royal predecessors, and the book reveals that,” Scott said.
He said the royal’s “dreadful history” was “unchecked” by the British monarchy and it had “destroyed” the monarchy.
It was written in a way that “moves the focus away from the royal power structure, the royal class and its dysfunctional governance”, Scott said, while also warning that the “dire consequences” of the book were “far from over”.
“It is a book which, at times, can seem to present the royalist side of the family as an infallible fact.
But, I think, there is a danger in such an approach, as it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said.
“The fact is that the royal legacy is not an absolute reality.
And it is not as if the royal history is unchangeable.
We have seen how, in recent decades, the Royal Families have changed, from the Tudor dynasty to the Royal family of Canada to the royalists in the United States.”
Scott’s book, which was published last year, is the latest in a string of books that have painted the royal elite in a “dysfunctional” and “damaged” light.
In the early 1990s, Scott reported for the BBC that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in denial about their relationship, which he described as “unorthodox”.
The pair were not married and the Duke was never an active member of the ruling family.
This article first appeared on the ABC News website.
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