Princess Diana was reportedly afraid that her influence on her sons, William and Harry, would diminish if one of the requests of her husband, King Charles, was fulfilled. Charles shared a very close bond with his nanny, Mabel Anderson, who was a very influential figure in the king’s life.
She was responsible for raising a young Charles while his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was occupied with the duties of the state. Charles wished for Anderson to take care of his sons just as she had taken care of him during his childhood. However, Diana reportedly rejected the idea pretty quickly.
Royal expert Richard Kay, writing for the Daily Mail, was able to shed light on the relationship that Charles had Anderson. He stated, “As an adult, [Charles] would fondly kiss Mabel goodnight whenever he was in residence and take breakfast with her in her quarters.”
Charles saw Anderson as a surrogate mother and furnished her with an apartment at the Windsor Estate after she retired.
🚨 HEARTWARMING ROYAL SECRET: How beloved nanny Mabel Anderson became King Charles’s true mother figure – and stayed so close that Diana banned her from caring for young William! 🚨
Mabel Anderson, the devoted Scottish nanny who raised Prince Charles from infancy after his… pic.twitter.com/HMj8B1od7B
— The scoop stateside (@ScoopStateside) March 9, 2026
Anderson was also the nanny to the former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. She gave the young prince the nickname “young imp,” which was reportedly a nickname that sprouted from the antics that he and his brother would indulge in.
Kay claimed that Diana was very much aware of how close the princes were to their nanny. According to Kay, Diana understood that Anderson’s presence in the raising of her children would lead to problems, such as reducing her own influence in her children’s lives.
Anderson was just two months older than Charles’s mother, and slotted in well into the vacuum that the young prince might have had in his life. It has been reported that Charles would often share her his disappointments and secrets with Anderson, which she kept in strict confidence.
Kay stated that given the position Charles’ parents would find themselves in quite early in their lives, it is natural that a nanny provided the emotional intelligence that the young prince would have needed during his childhood. Much like many members of the royal family, the king’s childhood and how the royal household affected his personality have always remained a topic of discussion.
