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A new documentary has claimed Jimmy Savile would dish out advice to the royal family, with their long-running correspondence detailed in a series of letters. Watch a trailer for Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story here:
The film, which landed on Netflix today, explores Savile’s twisted relationship with the public, and how his crimes were able to go undetected for so long.
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Along with ‘extensive archive footage’, the filmmakers gained access to dozens of letters between Prince Charles and the popular entertainer, with the royal allegedly seeking advice on how to improve his family’s image - supposedly in the wake of PR blunders.
In one, written on 14 January 1989, Charles allegedly said to Savile: “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.”
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At one point, we see how Savile shared a handwritten, five-page document titled Guidelines for Members of the Royal Family and Their Staffs, in which the-40-year-old laid out how he believed the royals should respond to significant incidents – believed to be drawn up after the Duke of York’s controversial comments on the Lockerbie disaster, which he said ‘only affects the community in a very small way’ and was bound to ‘happen at some stage’.
According to the doc, Charles wrote back to Savile on 27 January 1989, saying he had shared Savile’s advice with his family.
“I attach a copy of my memo on disasters which incorporates your points and which I showed to my Father,” he wrote.
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“He showed it to H.M.”
Director Rowan Deacon told The Times: “It reignited a discussion about how the royal family should respond to disasters.
“Jimmy Savile wrote this dossier, quite an in-depth document of advice, on how the Queen should behave and how members of the royal family should not be in competition with each other.”
In the dossier, Savile suggested hiring ‘a special person with considerable experience in such matters’, adding: “There must be an ‘incident room’ with several independent phone lines, teletext etc... The Queen should be informed in advance of any proposed action by family members.”
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According to Deacon, the response from the Queen’s private secretary was ‘quite lukewarm, and Charles [was] frustrated by that’.
The day after the Lockerbie disaster, Charles had also allegedly asked Savile for help with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
In another letter featured in the doc, he wrote: “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.”
The correspondence would continue for decades, with another letter from 16 April 1990 appearing to show how Charles turned to Savile for help with a speech he was due to make at London’s Guildhall.
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The royal 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?”
Later that year, on 4 July, he also 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.”
Deacon said Prince Andrew and the royal family were ‘duped, like we all were’, 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.”
LADbible has reached out to Clarence House for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/NetflixTopics: Netflix, Royal Family, TV and Film, Jimmy Savile