CHARLES' BIGGEST SCANDALS

ILLEGAL DRINKING, FORGERIES & AFFAIRS | When it comes to making embarrassing mistakes, the King is an expert

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TAMPONGATE

 In January 1993, a secretly recorded phone conversation between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles - which took place in 1989 when they were still married to their respective spouses - was leaked, in which he famously mused he wanted to "live inside" her trousers and come back as "a Tampax".

The explicit conversation and ensuing scandal harmed the future monarch's reputation almost beyond repair. "His popularity plummeted, and people questioned his fitness to be king," says royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith.

CASH FOR HONOURS

In February 2022, British police launched an investigation into Charles' charity, The Prince's Trust, after Michael Fawcett, a long-time aide to Charles, helped to secure the prince's support for Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz to receive a knighthood and British citizenship in return for donations of more than $2 million.