"The rabble criticize me without so much as a 'by your leave'. The bloody cheek!"
Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has complained that his future subjects have "tortured" him over his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, a newspaper reported.
The Mail on Sunday said the prince's comments to BBC journalist Gavin Hewitt, included in a new book, will fuel concern at the public's growing disenchantment with the monarchy and the prince's suitability to become king.
While at first refusing to discuss his relationship with Parker Bowles, Charles is pressed further and then snaps: "I thought the British people were supposed to be compassionate. I don't see much of it," the Mail said.
Whether His Highness feels that way or not, perhaps his future subjects are entitled to have an opinion on his performance and lifestyle, given that Charles collected £3M from the taxpayers last year for breathing, in addition to the £9.9M his inherited lands produced.
I think I could stand a bit of this, ahem, torture.