Newly unearthed letters reveal that the Prince of Wales sought the advice of Jimmy Savile on how the royal family could improve its media relations. Charles contacted Savile after Prince Andrew had been criticised for comments he made in the wake of the Lockerbie bombing.
According to The Times:
Savile, the late BBC presenter now known for his prolific sex offending, wrote a media relations “handbook” for Charles, 73, who went on to “incorporate” some of the advice in a memo that was shown to the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
According to letters spanning a period of 20 years, Savile, the former Top of the Pops host, appeared to take on a role as unofficial adviser to the future king.
Details of the correspondence are revealed in a new Netflix documentary, Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story.
The director, Rowan Deacon, gained access to dozens of letters in which the prince regularly sought guidance from the presenter.
On January 14, 1987, the Prince of Wales sent Jimmy Savile a letter. “Perhaps I am wrong,” he wrote from Sandringham in his spidery script, “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.”
It was not a one-off request. The prince and the presenter corresponded for 20 years, between 1986 and 2006, with Savile apparently acting as unofficial adviser to the heir to the throne.
The depth and intimacy of their correspondence is revealed in a new Netflix documentary, Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which uses archive clips to explore how Savile did what he did, grooming a nation into believing he was a talented broadcaster and tireless philanthropist when, off-camera, he was a serial sexual abuser and paedophile.
After Savile’s death in 2011, aged 84, the police investigated about 500 allegations of abuse, taking place from 1955 to 2009, the vast majority from victims aged under 18.
Yet, the police never interviewed Prince Charles. I and others said at the time, that this was truly astonishing.
Savile had been revealed to be a record-breaking paedophile. He committed the most revolting crimes against children, women and men for nearly five decades. It appears that he had absolutely no fear of being caught.
Why? That’s the real question isn’t it? Why did the most famous DJ and TV presenter in the country carry out his crimes against humanity with impunity?
Did he have immunity? How could royal protection officers and Mi5 not know what the monster was up to? The guy was hanging out with the Queen’s eldest son. They’d have turned him upside down and inside out, right?
And, how could his best friend not have any suspicion as to what he was?
The Met Police has never commented on why the heir to the throne wasn’t invited for an informal chat about his relationship with Jimmy Savile. That’s incomprehensible.
Even Inspector Clouseau would have gone knocking at the palace.
