Prince Charles once wanted to leave royal role behind for life in Italy, The Queen Mother stopped him

The Queen Mother broke Royal Family rule in order to stop her grandson Prince Charles committing to making a "big mistake", a royal expert has claimed.

Prince Charles once wanted to leave his royal role behind for a life in Italy. The pressures of the media were "remorseless' in the 1990s and it really "affected" how Charles viewed his life within The Firm.

Royal historian and author Gareth Russell, while speaking on the latest episode of Royally Us, discussed Charles' plan and how his grandmother, the Queen Mother, was the one to stop him in his tracks.

"He [Charles] had come up with this idea, allegedly, that he would spend six months of the year living in Tuscany, in Northern Italy," said Russell.

The author added: "She [the Queen Mother] decided to talk to Charles over dinner about Edward [VIII] and how she felt one of his big mistakes has been going to live abroad".

This was a topic that was discussed "very seldom". He added that the Queen Mother believed "what was unsaid was, as important as what was said".

Speaking of Edward VII, Mr Russell said: "[He] has been going to live in France and Austria after he abdicated."

Mr Russell continued: "It was very clear what point she [the Queen Mother] was trying to make without specifically saying it."

He concluded: "We don't hear much about Tuscany after that.

"So she was pretty instrumental."

Speaking to Kinsey Schofield, on a past episode of the To Di For Daily podcast, Mr Russell: “She [the Queen Mother] did, at one point, get a whisper that Prince Charles was considering going to live in Italy in the early Nineties.

"He was really struggling with the press. He was very unpopular at that point.

“And the way she [the Queen Mother] phrased it, it became very clear to Charles that she was telling him: ‘Do not leave this country".