Prince Charles heaped praise on Jimmy Savile as he asked for help to fix the Royal Family’s image
Secret letters sent from Prince Charles to Jimmy Savile begging paedophile DJ to ‘use his straightforward common sense’ to help royals with PR and speechwriting spanning 20 years are revealed in bombshell Netflix documentary
Prince Charles requested Jimmy Savile’s help in smoothing out Royal Family’s image after series of blundersHeir to the throne said that Savile’s ‘common sense’ could help Sarah, Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew Future king wrote to DJ after string of botched PR appearances in the 80s, especially after Lockerbie bombingNewly revealed handwritten letters spanning period 1986 to 2006 show good relationship between them Director of Netflix series Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story says Charles ‘duped’ by Savile like many others
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Prince Charles wrote to depraved child rapist Jimmy Savile to ask him to help with the Royal Family’s ailing image – and boosting his own profile – after a series of PR disasters, newly released letters written by the heir to the throne over 20 years revealed today.
The Prince of Wales lavished praise on the predatory paedophile’s ‘straightforward common sense’ and asked him for advice on improving speeches and helping him with public visits to charities. Charles also asked Savile to advise his sister in law Sarah, the Duchess of York and her gaffe-prone husband Prince Andrew.
The TV star, later revealed to be one of Britain’s worst child abusers who also bragged about performing sex acts on corpses in hospital morgues and stealing glass eyes from the dead for jewellery, even drew up a media relations handbook for Charles, according to the royal’s letters.
Charles went on to incorporate some of the advice in an action plan which was seen by his parents the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
His correspondence with Savile, then the Jim’ll Fix It presenter and arguably the most famous man in Britain at that time, are revealed to the world in the new Netflix documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which goes online today. Experts described Charles’ judgment in leaning on Savile as ‘catastrophic’.
Charles and other members of the Royal Family had no idea Savile’s philanthropy was a cover for decades of abuse.
‘He [Charles] was duped, like we all were,’ the Netflix documentary’s director Rowan Deacon told The Times, adding: ‘The letters show the trust that Prince Charles put into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernise. And he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that. In hindsight, that was catastrophic.’
Savile was asked to guide the future king between 1986 and 2006 on matters from public speeches to family matters. At that time the BBC star used his fame, wealth and prolific fundraising, which raised millions for the NHS, as a way to be free to abuse who he wanted.
A five-page PR guide was drawn up in 1989 on how the royals should respond to significant incidents. It came a year after the Duke of York said on a visit to Lockerbie, where 270 people died: ‘I suppose statistically something like this has got to happen at some stage… Of course it only affects the community in a very small way.’
The Prince of Wales’ correspondence with Savile, then the Jim’ll Fix It presenter, will be shown to the world in the new Netflix documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story
A five-page PR guide was drawn up in 1989 on how the royals should respond to significant incidents
Elsewhere, Charles sought help with his speech writing, saying Savile was ‘so good at understanding what makes people operate’.
Charles also asked Savile where he could make public visits as he knew he was well connected with many institutions through his fundraising
Other letters revealed how Savile was also asked to help the Duchess of York with her public relations. On December 22, 1989 Charles wrote: ‘I can’t help feeling that it would be extremely useful to her if you could. I feel she could do with some of your straightforward common sense.’
In one note, the Prince asks if Savile would mind meeting his then sister-in-law to help reign her erratic behaviour in.
Knowing his connections within the charity industry, Prince Charles would also ask for Savile’s suggestions for public visits, without knowing these were the very places the television personality would use to attack his victims.
Later letters lavish praise on Savile’s affable traits – long before the presenter’s heinous past came to light – that the television star would use over a near 50 year campaign of terror to abuse hundreds of victims as young as five.
Savile came into contact with the Prince and Princess of Wales after his work on the Stoke Mandeville Hospital – whose spinal injuries ward Princess Diane opened in 1983.
It would later emerge that the paedophile DJ attacked 60 NHS patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital alone, where he was given his own private bedroom and 24 hour access to all wards. It is also likely that he had sex with bodies in a mortuary at Leeds General Infirmary for up to 50 years and is believed to have stolen glass eyes from the dead and made them into medallions and rings.
Charles’ writings paint a picture of a hospitable relationship between the Prince and the TV star.
Charles informally signs off his correspondence with his first name, while addressing Savile as Jimmy.
A request to tap Savile’s influence and connections to form a ‘list of suggestions… to get to parts of the country that others don’t get to reach’ was among the Prince’s earliest letters.
Writing from Sandringham on January 14, 1989, Charles asked: ‘Perhaps I am wrong, but you are the bloke who knows what’s going on. What I really need, is a list of suggestions from you. I so want to get to parts of the country that others don’t get to reach.’
The Prince had earlier asked for Savile’s advice on responding to PR blunders, after Prince Andrew’s performance in the wake of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988.
Eleven people died, along with the 259 passengers and crew on board the New York-bound plane which had set off from Heathrow. But Andrew had seemed to show little empathy in the wake of the national disaster.
Savile came into contact with the Prince and Princess of Wales after his work on the Stoke Mandeville Hospital – whose spinal injuries ward Princess Diane opened in 1983
Charles’ writings paint a picture of a hospitable relationship between the Prince and the TV star. He informally signs off his correspondence with his first name, while addressing Savile as Jimmy
Netflix’s new documentary will cast a light on the eccentricity and philanthropy used by Savile to mask his many decades of sex abuse allegations. Pictured: The Prince of Wales meeting Savile and Frank Bruno in November 1998
The day after the bombing, Charles wrote Savile and asked: ‘I wonder if you would ever be prepared to meet my sister-in-law, the Duchess of York?
‘I can’t help feeling that it would be extremely useful to her if you could. I feel she could do with some of your straight-forward common sense.’
In response, Savile concocted an action plan, which was reportedly viewed by the Queen and Prince Philip, that would see an ‘incident room’ with independent phone lines installed and required all proposed action to be vetted by Her Majesty.
Charles later wrote back on January 27, 1989, in which he attached a memo on disasters ‘incorporating your points’ that would be shown to the Queen.
On April 16 that year, as Charles pondered a speech he would make at London’s Guildhall, he wrote: ‘You are so good at understanding what makes people operate and you’re wonderfully sceptical and practical.
‘Can you cast an eye over this draft and let me know how you think we can best appeal to people?’
Netflix’s new documentary casts a light on the eccentricity and philanthropy used by Savile to mask his many decades of sex abuse
The television star would use his affable personality over a near 50 year campaign of terror to sexually abuse hundreds of victims, some as young as five. He also used access to vulnerable children and adults to abuse, including in the NHS
On July 4, he wrote from Highgrove House: ‘Dear Jimmy, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the most useful assistance you have provided for my speech in the Guildhall the other day.
‘It was really good of you to take the trouble to put together those splendid notes and provide me with considerable food for thought.
‘Whether you think the final result is in any way worthwhile is another matter. With renewed and heartfelt thanks, Charles.’
Netflix’s new documentary will cast a light on the eccentricity and philanthropy used by Savile to mask his many decades of sex abuse allegations.
Savile, who rose from a humble working-class upbringing to become one of British television’s biggest stars, passed away aged 84 in 2011.
In his final years, he fought to quell growing speculation about his illegal exploits throughout his illustrious career with the BBC.
A Corporation-led inquiry into his actions found he had molested at least 72 children, some as young as eight, over a four decade campaign of sexual abuse with his first victim in 1959 and his last in 2006.
His horrific reign of abuse could be charted ‘in the corridors, canteens, staircases and dressing rooms of every BBC premises’, their 2016 report found.
