Before Jimmy Savile’s death in 2011, he was considered by most British Establishment figures as a man who devoted himself to charity and children’s causes. As it turned out, Savile was one of Britain’s most prolific child abusers and sexual predators. After his death, it all came out. There have been a few documentaries about Savile and how he hid in plain sight, and there’s been a lot of energy given towards Savile’s connection with then-Prince Charles. Charles nurtured the friendship and even sought out Savile’s advice on media relations. Well, there’s another documentary and once again, Savile’s connection to Charles is part of the story:
King Charles might resort to a medicinal Laphroaig as he awaits the first segment of the BBC’s Jimmy Savile biopic The Reckoning on Monday. The BBC has said Savile used his connections with the Royal Family and other institutions to conceal his crimes.
Unwittingly Charles used Savile as an adviser on handling the media and as a marriage counsellor when his relationship with Diana hit the rocks. He also innocently used him as a guide to ‘ordinary’ people, even going with Savile as he collected his old age pension.
My mole whispers that appearances of the King are minimal with a brief scene alongside Diana at a hospital opening.
But HM surely regrets sending Savile Cuban cigars and gold cufflinks to mark his 80th birthday with the note, ‘Nobody will ever know what you have done for this country, Jimmy. This is to go some way to thanking you for that.’
This is actually all old news, the latest twist is that there’s a new documentary and that Charles is king now, and he still has the worst instincts. That’s what I keep coming back to. Unlike Diana, who could read people quickly, Charles has been ensnared by a series of predators, gurus, pseudoscientists and sycophants throughout his life. The Ephraim Hardcastle column also followed up with this:
King Charles’s friendship with Jimmy Savile is further confirmed by my disclosure here that after Prince Harry’s birth in 1984 he had been included in a long list of names of potential godfathers. The selection was written by Charles and seen by his private secretary Edward Adeane.
Adeane was aware that Charles would not listen to any argument against Savile. Having a fractious relationship with Diana, he felt he could not approach Harry’s mother. He did discuss it with Sir Alastair Aird, the Queen Mother’s comptroller, who was duly horrified and assured Adeane that the matter would be ‘dealt with’. Savile didn’t make the final six.
As details of Savile’s crimes emerged following his death in 2011, David Cameron pledged to consider a legal change that honours could be rescinded post-humously. He never got round to it.
Perhaps Charles could rummage around the royal attic and return William and Harry’s Jim’ll Fix It badges to the BBC.
Yikes, I actually didn’t know that Charles wanted Savile to be Harry’s godfather. That would have been in 1984. I can only imagine, if it would have happened, how the British media would have referred to Harry as “Jimmy Savile’s godson” in all of their reporting. Ugh.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.
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