Scandal at the Palace: King Charles's dark connection to sex offender re-exposed
Personnel changes at Buckingham Palace are resurfacing disturbing secrets from the past. One of Britain's worst sex predators, who previously served as a trusted advisor to Charles, influenced appointments and even tried to save his marriage to Diana.
Personnel changes at Buckingham Palace are stirring up ghosts from the past. These days, King Charles is looking for a new private secretary, but the process, which is supposed to be "open and rigorous," is resurfacing a dark period. The selection takes the kingdom back to 1990, when Charles scandalously consulted with Jimmy Savile — the TV star who was later revealed to be one of the greatest sex offenders in British history — before appointing his previous secretary.
According to a report on the AOL website, sources at the palace reveal that Savile enjoyed unprecedented access to the royal family's inner circle. Unlike the stiff advisors who tried to maintain protocol, Savile used to walk around the palace in colorful tracksuits and flashy jewelry.
"He could say direct and provocative things to Charles that no one else dared to say," said a source close to the palace, who compared Savile to a "king's jester," someone allowed to break all the rules.
Savile's influence did not stop at professional appointments but also penetrated Charles's personal life. In 1990, as his marriage to Princess Diana began to fall apart, Savile was brought in a desperate attempt to "fix" the relationship. Diana's former bodyguard revealed that Savile would simply appear at Kensington Palace without warning. While Charles saw him as a breath of fresh air, Diana, it turns out, could not stand him at all.
The unusual connection between the two lasted for many years, and Charles even dined at Savile's home in 1999 and sent him greeting cards. Only after Savile's death in 2011 — when Charles still mourned him and expressed deep sadness — were the dimensions of the horror of his hundreds of victims revealed. Now, as the palace looks for a fresh start, the stain of that disturbing friendship refuses to disappear and leaves a big question mark over the King's judgment in the past.
