For more than four decades, Arthur Edwards photographed members of the British royal family. He came above all King Charles III. as close as no other.
London – In 1977, Arthur Edwards (82) joined the British newspaper The Sun for which he has been working as a royal photographer for almost 46 years now. In an interview with the , Edwards chatted with the publication of his photo book “Behind the Crown: My Life Photographing the Royal Family”. People-Magazine now out of the sewing box and revealed how King Charles III (74) prepared for his role as monarch for decades, and like the king’s wife Camilla (75) brought a breath of fresh air to the palace.
“Not just sitting there and drinking champagne”: King Charles wanted to make a difference as heir to the throne
On Instagram, Arthur Edwards states that he has accompanied a total of seven royal weddings, four funerals and seven births as a photographer. The Brit was also part of the entourage on 200 trips to 120 countries. When Edwards entered the life of King Charles III in 1977. He was in his late 20s and, as heir to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II (96, † 2022), bore the title Prince of Wales.
“For 70 years he waited to be king, but he didn’t want to just sit there and play backgammon and drink champagne. He wanted to make a difference, and he did,” Arthur Edwards explains loudly People-Magazine. Charles has always been a visionary who dealt with issues such as organically grown food and plastic pollution of the oceans early on. “He said, ‘Not for me, but for my children and grandchildren,'” says the photographer. “He’s just a really nice man.” As king, Charles is now the center of attention after many years as heir to the throne.
At 74 he suddenly became a megastar, like a rock star, and everyone comes to see him.
Thanks to Camilla: King Charles is now ‘a much happier person’
After the death of Princess Diana (36, † 1997), interest in Crown Prince Charles waned noticeably, Arthur Edwards recalls. “I was often the only person on the plane to go out with him. People didn’t care. They thought, ‘Diana is dead, that’s it.’ But it wasn’t over because he did a great job.” The renewed relationship with Camilla then inspired Charles again. With her relaxed nature, Camilla also caused one or the other surprise.
“Our first tour was to the United States and I remember we went to a market north of Los Angeles and someone gave her a peach or something and she started eating it, which no royal would do.” , reports Arthur Edwards. “But she did. And I remember saying, ‘Diana would never do that.’ But she was different. He (Charles) is a much happier person now. He’s happy.” The world should be too at the coronation of King Charles III. on May 6th, for which he is already rehearsing diligently with Camilla. And on this big day for the British royal family, Arthur Edwards will of course be back in action as a photographer – at the proud age of 82. Sources used: people.com
