Prince Charles turned to Jimmy Savile for PR advice for the Royal Family, newly released correspondence shows.
The late TV presenter, now exposed as a child abuser, even wrote a five-page guide for the royals in the wake of the Lockerbie disaster.
Letters to the disgraced broadcaster were revealed in new Netflix docuseries titled Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story.
The Prince of Wales turned to Savile after the Duke of York was criticised for comments made about the bombing, the filmmakers claim.
During a visit to Dumfries and Galloway days after the tragedy, Andrew said: "I suppose statistically something like this has got to happen at some stage."
In one letter from the 1990s, Prince Charles wrote told Savile he was "so good at understanding what makes people operate”.
Advice given by Savile was "incorporated" into the public strategy of the royals over a 20-year-period from 1986 to 2007, the Times reported.
Another letter in 1991 thanked Savile for help with a speech. It read: "It really was extremely good of you to take the trouble to put together those splendid notes and they provided me with considerable food for thought. With renewed and heartfelt thanks. Yours ever, Charles.”
In the PR dossier written after Charles approached him for help, Saville recommended the royals set up an 'incident room' with independent phone lines.
He added: "The Queen should be informed in advance of any proposed action by family members.”
In 2011, after the TV presenter's death, hundreds of survivors came forward with stories of abuse revealing him as a sexual predator.
Police launched an investigation into 500 allegations of abuse spanning over a number of decades.
The filmmakers behind the documentary claimed Charles "was duped, like we all were" by the broadcaster.
Director Rowan Deacon told The Times: “The letters show the trust that Prince Charles put into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernise. And he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that. In hindsight, that was catastrophic.”
Clarence House were contacted for comment.
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