Prince Charles and Jimmy Savile.Photo: Tim Ockenden/PA Images via Getty
Prince Charleswas close to him and sought his public relations advice.Princess Dianawas just a phone call away. And former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher entertained him at her country home and pushed for him to be knighted.
Saville was a light entertainment staple in the UK for decades, helming the long-running BBC showJim’ll Fix It(in which children would write in and have their wishes granted), and helping to front theTop of the Popsshow.
Jimmy Savile and Prince Charles.Gareth Copley/PA Images via Getty
He was, the report said, “a mainly opportunistic individual who used his celebrity status as a powerful tool to coerce or control them, preying on the vulnerable or star-struck for his sexual gratification,“the BBC reports. Savile’s sex abuse lasted until two years before his death.
Prince Charleswas reportedly so enamored with Savile and the impact he was having on healthcare that he asked for him to attend meetings with some hospital executives, theDaily Mailreported.
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Savile’s story has come to prominence again due to the new Netflix documentaryJimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which analyzes in part how “people are deceived and how people beyond the victims are groomed,” producer Rowan Deacon toldThe Times.
The documentary shows how Charles, seeking to enhance his own popularity, sought out Savile’s public relations advice, and even urged him to meet with his sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson: “I feel she could do with some of your straightforward common sense!” Charles wrote in a letter to Savile.
Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Jimmy Savile.Hilaria McCarthy/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty
Savile’s popularity among the royals and other prominent figures help mask his true nature. Charles “was duped, like we all were,” Deacon toldThe Times. Charles’s letters shown in the documentary “show the trustPrince Charlesput into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernize and he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that,” Deacon says.
He adds, “We’re not suggesting for one moment that Thatcher orPrince Charlesknew what he was really up to. Nonetheless, that seal of approval meant that the weight of his respect and trust was a planet compared to the tiny voices of these women.”
source: people.com
