Claim: Prince Charles, heir apparent to the British throne, was happy that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the new president of the Philippines
Rating: FALSE
Pinoy Trending News printed an open letter of a British national married to a Filipina about Prince Charles and his remark about the name of the incoming president (https://pinoytrendingnews.net/thank-you-sir-for-this…/…).
In the video (https://youtu.be/m0XB5LX-TRg), heir-apparent Prince Charles was jubilantly welcoming the crowd and the uploader, a Filipino, mentioned that she was from the Philippines.
The Prince of Wales then said, “I see you’ve elected a new president… Bongbong? Bongbong Marcos? What a wonderful name.”
The Filipina said, “Yes Sir and we love it.”
Prince Charles then walked off laughing.
The grateful Londoner named Malcolm Conlan then wrote an open letter to Prince Charles saying that what he did was an “amazing gesture.”
“I appreciate and acknowledge that you are above politics, however this simple interaction and comment from you regarding the recently concluded democratic process in the Philippines, means so much to so many!!!!” Conlan wrote.
“Thank you sir for this kind gesture, it made me cry and was so touching,” he said.
The brief meeting, however, can be interpreted many ways.
Many of the pro-BBM sites spun it to say that the heir apparent was happy or delighted that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was elected as the Philippine president.
Those in Reddit and other social media had other theories.
One said that Prince Charles was laughing at us, not with us. Others said that he was being snarky and sarcastic. Another said it is an example of British humor. Another said it’s the British fascination of Filipino nicknames.
The 20-second video is too brief to be given proper context.
But Prince Charles is familiar with the Marcoses. On February 1975, then First Lady Imelda Marcos attended the coronation of King Birendra of Nepal in Kathmandu and Prince Charles was seen sharing a parasol with her.
In “Conjugal Dictatorship” by Primitivo Mijares, it was said that Imelda chartered four planes for the trip.
In this article (https://declassifieduk.org/our-men-in-manila/) Prince Charles was supposed to visit the Philippines for the first time in 1983 to attend a meeting of the International Equestrian Federation but begged off as Benigno Aquino Jr. was just assassinated.
It was also said that Imelda Marcos gifted Prince Charles a speedboat named ”Imelda”. (https://www.gettyimages.com/…/british-royal…/1328535808)
The biggest difference between Prince Charles and Bongbong is that Prince Charles is the first heir apparent to earn a degree, graduating in Cambridge in 1970.