Charles attacked by hedge

Charles sports a cut caused by a hedge
Neil Sears|Daily Mail13 April 2012

He was doing his best to stay cheerful. But the cut on his nose and the plaster on the royal thumb suggested that Prince Charles has been in the wars of late.


On an official visit to Yorkshire yesterday, Palace aides explained that the abrasion had been caused by a hedge while Charles was gardening.

The Prince also revealed during a chat that the skin on his thumbs tends to crack during the winter.

But with the Prince having endured days of speculation over a former aide's claim that he had an intense relationship with an aristocratic

brunette, some mischievous observers might be inclined to put a rather different spin on the injuries.

Certainly the woman who has been an almost permanent fixture in the life of the heir to the throne, Camilla Parker Bowles, will have been feeling distinctly cross about the latest turn of events.

Could that have something to do with the Prince's rather battered appearance?

The latest bout of theorising over Charles's private life was sparked by an article in Saturday's Daily Mail by royal author Christopher Wilson.

He revealed how a former aide had claimed that the Prince of Wales had been 'infatuated' with a female friend, but that Camilla had allowed the dalliance to carry on in the belief that it would fizzle out.

The mystery brunette's husband rubbished the rumours at the weekend and friends of the Prince described them as 'laughable'.

Yet Charles is understood to be angry about an apparent attempt to undermine his relationship with Camilla.

Charles showed no sign of tension over the speculation yesterday as he visited Skipton Auction Mart in North Yorkshire as part of his campaign to encourage the revival of rural communities.

One local he met was Margaret Throup, 71 , who makes therapeutic cream.

After sampling some, Charles took away a pot, saying he would put it to use on his cracked thumbs.

n.sears@dailymail.co.uk

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