Close to the crown: Best-selling author Sally Bedell Smith to speak about royal family

The British royal family seems to always make headlines — from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal engagement to the Netflix-original hit "The Crown" chronicling the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite the family's public image, no one really knows the royals for the exception of their inner circle.

Unless you're New York Times best-selling biographer Sally Bedell Smith, who rubs shoulders with those closest to the royal family to pull back the curtain on the illustrious figures.

Smith plans to share her insight about the royal family, specifically the heir to Britain's throne, Prince Charles, when she visits Naples for the Art of Giving fundraiser held at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort on Jan. 31.

It's part of her 8-city tour to promote her latest biography, "Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life." 

She first met Charles, the Prince of Wales, in 1991 at a polo match in England. 

"He was so warm and so attentive to this older woman, who was one of his grandmother’s best friends," said Smith in a phone interview while she was promoting her book in Nassau, Bahamas.

"He had an appealing personality that just doesn’t come through in the public eye so I was determined to show what he’s really like and the impact that he has had." 

A contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 1996, Smith worked at Time and The New York Times, where she was a cultural news reporter. 

She's written biographies on countless public figures from Britain to America since the 1990s. The list includes William S. Paley, Pamela Harriman, Princess Diana, President John Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton and Queen Elizabeth II.

Smith resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Stephen. Together, they have three grown children.

Ahead of her Naples visit, Smith shared royal secrets, her thoughts on "The Crown" and who she plans on writing about next.

Prince Charles by Sally Bedell Smith | PenguinRandomHouse.com

Q: You’ve shed light on many famous figures. Talk about the work that goes behind putting together a biography on a famous individual or couple.

A: I start by reading lots of books from people I consider good predecessors and/or periodicals. Then I develop a list of sources. I did 300 interviews for my most recent book on Prince Charles. I traveled with his entourage to Malta and Sri Lanka and interviewed his top aides and people who knew him very closely, and even one of his spiritual gurus. With someone who is still alive you have to be somewhat mindful of doing anything libelous, which I’ve never done. I just have to approach a biography not trying to anticipate what the person might think of the ultimate book. 

Q: You’ve written about Queen Elizabeth II and your most recent biography focuses on her son, Prince Charles. What drew you to write about him?

A: In a way, Prince Charles has been a much more public figure than Queen Elizabeth II. He’s been a spiritual seeker and has had a series of gurus that have influenced him. He's been a part of many charities. He is full of contradictions and quirks and I wanted to explain how he was different from his mother and what has made him that way. I really felt it was my responsibility to offer a nuance and portrait of his marriage with Princess Diana and how absolutely ill-suited they were for each other. 

Q: The royal family is portrayed in the Netflix-original drama “The Crown.” Do you think the series accurately depicts them based on what you've learned over the years?

A: I know the show's creator quite well (Peter Morgan). I worked with him on the play "The Audience" with Helen Mirren who played Queen Elizabeth II. I think in the first season of "The Crown," he took dramatic liberties and some of the situations were kind of silly and understandably meant to inject drama into historical events. I thought he went over the line in season 2. The problem with showing history on film is that it’s so vivid, and in this case, the production value is so exquisite and the details are dazzling and actors are superb and writing is witty. It's definitely steps above other productions, but I feel like what he’s done is he has taken some truths, and embellished it a lot more and distorted characterization, especially painting Prince Phillip as the playboy type. Everyone should enjoy what they’re seeing but treat it more as historical fiction as opposed to an accurate depiction of real events. 

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I’m still out and about talking about my new book. I’m working on another book about the royal family, a dual biography, on King George VI and his wife Elizabeth. A lot of it will be about World War II and the great love story between the two.  

Q: What do you plan to talk about during your Naples visit?

A: I think I’ll be talking about Prince Charles. It will be a talk about some of the more surprising aspects of him, the range of his interests and his accomplishments, his relationship with Princess Diana, his relationship with current wife Camilla Parker Bowles and his legacy and relationship with his grown sons, Harry and William. 

Q: What do you think of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement?

A: I think it’s clear they have a real bond if you watch their interviews. I think she’s three years older, she’s mature, she's been an actress and in the public eye. She didn’t have an easy upbringing either, but I think she’ll be a quick study in terms of the royal family.

The Art of Giving

What: A fundraiser benefiting The Archangel Fund for Collier County Charities administered by Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal Church

When: 11 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 31 

Where: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, 2600 Tiburon Drive, Naples

Cost: $300 per person. Sponsorship opportunities are available

Register: www.artofgivingnaples.org