Tom Bower’s 2018 biography Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion and Defiance of Prince Charles recounts that Charles reacted with alarm after seeing cling film covering food at Clarence House. The episode is an anecdote attributed to Bower’s book, not an independently verified event.
What does Tom Bower’s account say?
In a 2018 review of Rebel Prince, The Guardian described a scene in which Charles came across salads and cold meat covered on a sideboard at Clarence House. The review gives the exchange this way: Charles asked, “What’s this?” and Camilla replied, “It’s clingfilm, darling.”
A separate Guardian report summarized Bower’s account as Charles reacting to an unfamiliar plastic covering over food, which Camilla identified as cling film. The report appeared on March 23, 2018, when the book was published; it attributes the story to Bower rather than documenting a firsthand account. Read The Guardian’s report.
Is the story confirmed?
No independent confirmation of this specific incident is established in the cited coverage. The Guardian reported that Clarence House would not comment on the allegations in the book. A later Food Republic retrospective also said royal spokespeople declined to comment on Bower’s anecdotes. A refusal to comment neither confirms nor disproves the scene.
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The Guardian’s review said Bower’s biography drew largely on 120 interviews with people involved with the royal family, most of whom did not want to be identified. That describes the book’s reported interview base; it does not independently corroborate this particular story.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why do some headlines say “plastic wrap”?
“Cling film” is the term used in the original British coverage. Later American-facing accounts use “plastic wrap” for the same kind of food covering. Marie Claire’s 2024 retelling reproduces a passage attributed to Bower’s book via The Mirror, including the description that Charles “shrieked.” That phrasing remains a retelling of the book’s account, not independent verification. The sources do not identify a particular brand, so “Saran Wrap” should not be treated as the item’s name in the anecdote.
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