Prince Charles: Breaking the Cycle: The Prince of Wales and the State of Britain

By James Morton and James Morton

Prince Charles is 50 years old on 14 November 1998, and to celebrate the event he has authorized James Morton to tell the story of his professional job as heir to the throne, what he has achieved in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0091865719
• ISBN13: 9780091865719
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Random House (UK)
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The Story of an Underrated Humanitarian and His Work

It is unusual for an author whose field is business and finance to write a book about a member of the British Royal Family; it is also unusual to see a book which focuses on Prince Charles' working life -- primarily his efforts to help disadvantaged young people. Given the constant media fascination with the Prince's private life, one might have feared that the Prince's obituary would have to be published before anyone thought to write such a book. Improving the lot of disadvantaged youth has been one of the Prince's primary causes since the 1970s, when he was a young man himself. The author estimates that the Prince has, through the Prince's Trust and related ventures, helped some 600,000 individuals to date -- including ethnic minorities, the disabled, and even youth with criminal records -- and that he spends over half of his working time in this cause. Morton describes the training courses, volunteer activities, grants, and other programs involved, and gives fascinating case histories. The Prince of Wales described by James Morton is a caring man who hates to see young lives go to waste, and has spent years using his position to do something about it. His position has not necessarily always made the task easy; he has often faced opposition from various sectors of society, and even from members of his own staff, but persisted nevertheless. Morton tells of the Prince's savvy at coaxing well-to-do individuals and successful businesses to give of their wealth and their time to his charities. The resulting picture is a far cry from the clueless cold fish of popular perception; indeed, the author reports that many of those interviewed for the book wondered why the Prince has been so misunderstood. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about what Prince Charles is really like, and to anyone who wishes to see an example of how the monarchy can make a positive impact on modern society.