The Prince of Wales Becomes a King

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Posted: Sep 15, 2022 12:01 AM

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WASHINGTON — I met King Charles III when he was but the prince of Wales on the evening of Nov. 2, 2005. I was the guest of President George W. Bush, and he invited me to the White House perhaps to demonstrate to the future British King that though Great Britain had a much older Spectator, America had its own Spectator, and it was read in the White House. His wife, Laura, declared to the prince that The American Spectator was one of the Bushes’ favorite magazines. She added that I was not only the editor and founder of The American Spectator but also “a philosopher.” Well, I suppose I am a philosopher of the absurd. Yet I did not think my levity would go over very well with Prince Charles. From the stony look on his face, I would say he gave indifference a whole new dimension. He was dignified, but he was not a lot of laughs. If I recall, his family has German roots and, as Billy Wilder reportedly once observed, German humor is no laughing matter.Upon meeting the prince, now the king, I gave him a more careful scrutiny. He had always been the target of witticisms, mostly in poor taste and not very funny. Moreover, people who had met him reported back that he was a serious man. …