Character on the couch : #13 Prince Charles
Each week we subject drama's great personalities to psychoanalysis. Today Prince Charles, appearing in the TV drama Whatever Love Means, is played by Laurence Fox. The analyst is Leo Benedictus.
How are you feeling, Your Highness?
Excellent. I got engaged this week.
Congratulations. To whom?
A lovely young thing called Lady Diana Spencer. Under the circumstances, I'm thrilled.
Why "under the circumstances"?
Well, you know. She's terribly young. It's exciting, but nerve-wracking as well. (Hesitantly) And I am concerned. I don't like her in my private rooms.
How do you feel when you're in your private room?
I like to light a fire, to read, and think about what I might be doing if I was in another country and anonymous ... I don't know if I really want a relationship at the moment.
With anyone?
(Pausing to think) Well, there's people that one leans on ... But I don't think we need to talk about that. Not every marriage can be out of a happy book, can it?
No, but most marriages begin happily. Are you married?
No.
Then how would you know how difficult it is to go into a marriage with these sorts of problems?
I'm feeling anger from you. I'm forced to come to these sessions. I'd rather just walk it out.
Who's making you come?
They all are. They think I'm "morose".
Are you?
I don't really know what these feelings are. I don't see the point in all this analysis. It's laid down in stone what I have to do, so why would it matter how I felt about it?
It's as if your job means you're not allowed to have feelings.
Well, what are feelings? Am I happy? Probably not. Will I ever be happy? Probably not. I don't feel one should spend one's life looking at it all the time; one should just get on with it.
And yet these feelings can cause trouble, like keeping you awake at night ...
(Interrupting) Oh, this is such rot!
I'm getting a lot of resistance.
This whole thing is ridiculous. It's almost like asking a fox whether it wants to be hunted. It's probably going to say no.
I see. I think we should stop now.
· Whatever Love Means is on ITV on December 23.